Vermentino

Eco di Mare is a white greeting from the Tuscan sea. Made from 100% Vermentino from the Alta Maremma, where the Etruscans once extracted silver from the earth and today the Turnauer family produces elegant wines from the mineral-rich terroir. The Tenuta is located at the southern zenith of the Bolgheri DOC, on the heights of Donoratico, part of the historic Tenuta of the Florentine Serristori family. In the red aeolian sands of Donoratico, between 20-80 metres above sea level, the Vermentino vines thrive under the protection of centuries-old pine groves along the Viale dei Pini. Fermented for 15 days, matured on the fine lees for two months and bottled for three months.

The Cotarellas dedicate a second Verdeluce to the "green heart of Italy": pure Vermentino from the hills around Montecchio near Orvieto. While the Bianco blend emphasises complexity and depth, the Vermentino plays the card of freshness and immediacy. Pale straw yellow in colour with greenish reflections. The nose is clean and delicate: camomile, kumquat, yellow peach, a hint of Mediterranean herbs. Slender and light-footed on the palate, with lively acidity and that salty undertone that characterises good Vermentino. Uncomplicated in the best sense of the word – a wine for an aperitif, for seafood, for summer evenings. SUPERIORE.DE

The Rivetti family, who have long since achieved fame with La Spinetta in Piedmont, found their Tuscan terroir for Vermentino in Terricciola. Sandy soils of marine origin, interspersed with oceanic sediments, characterise this white wine with its unmistakable minerality and salty freshness. The vines grow at an altitude of 250 metres on a south-easterly exposure and are cultivated organically. After manual harvesting, the must ferments spontaneously with natural yeasts, after which the wine rests for three to four months on the fine lees in stainless steel.

When the morning dew moistens the young Vermentino vines in Gallura, the inspiration for Lintóri – sardinian for "Rugiada del mattino". Since 2010, the traditional Capichera winery has been vinifying this deliberately freshest expression of its Vermentino portfolio from the youngest vineyards between Arzachena, Olbia and Palau. Where ancient granite formations meet sea breezes, the 100% Vermentino thrives on sandy, stony soils of volcanic origin. The hand-picked grapes from the late August harvest are matured in stainless steel to preserve their crystalline minerality.

Capalbio – this is the southernmost end of the Tuscan coast, where the Maremma is wilder and more unspoilt than anywhere else, with views of Monte Argentario and the Burano lagoon. This is where Monteverro is located: a biodynamically farmed estate that Georg and Barbara Weber awoke from its slumber around two decades ago. Vermentino is the white soul of this place – fresh, fruity, light-hearted, with the fine minerality of clay and limestone soil. 100% Vermentino, harvested by hand from 5,555 vines per hectare with a north-south orientation. Whole-cluster pressing, no malolactic fermentation – because this is about freshness, not fullness. Six months on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks. The result is exactly what Monteverro formulates as its goal: "An expression of Italy's joie de vivre."

In the heart of the prestigious Le Sondraie vineyard, just a few kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea, Marilisa Allegrini's very personal favourite wine thrives. Solosole epitomises the intimate connection between the Mediterranean Vermentino grape variety and the unique Bolgheri terroir – a wine that is like the "fruit of the sunlight", as its name suggests. This 100% Vermentino comes from specially selected Corsican clones that benefit from the exceptional abundance of light on the Tuscan coast. The prolonged sun-ripening intensifies the aromas and flavours, while the night-time harvest guarantees stress-free grapes with intact aromatic precursors.

The curlew is a shy bird of the dunes and sandbanks of Marina di Bibbona – sand-coloured, almost invisible, with large yellow eyes. Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi has dedicated the only white wine from Tenuta Campo di Sasso to it: inconspicuous at first glance, but very distinctive at second glance. 100% Vermentino from sandy, gravelly soils at an altitude of 50 metres – close enough to the coast for the sea breezes to sweep over the vines every day. Hand-picked in the cool morning hours, fermentation in stainless steel at a controlled temperature, 30 days of fine lees with daily bâtonnage, a further two months in steel.

In the wide plain around Bolgheri – between the hills of the Alta Maremma and the nearby Tyrrhenian coast – the Vermentino thrives on ideal terrain. The vines benefit from the interplay of sea breeze and warmth, sandy, well-drained soils and careful harvest at optimum ripeness. Guado al Tasso vinifies a precise, clearly contoured white wine with a Mediterranean soul and remarkable tension.

A photo from 1955 adorns the bottle: Elliott Erwitt's "California Kiss", two lovers in the mirror of a car. When Trudie Styler tasted the first sip of this Vermentino, she spontaneously found the name – "like a kiss on the lips". The fact that the wine was released in March 2021, when the world was hungry for closeness, lends it additional poetry. Incidentally, it is the first white wine that Riccardo Cotarella vinified for Il Palagio – a tribute to Trudie's love of elegant Bianchi. The hand-picked Vermentino grapes ferment at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, and a short maturation period preserves the vibrant freshness.

"Fruit that bears richly" ... the meaning of the name. Sciala evokes images of golden grapes in the warm light of the Gallura autumn. Here, millennia-old memories and modern precision come together to create a Vermentino that is considered the style-defining work (not only) of Surrau. The grapes come from the estate's best plots: historic soils with granite subsoil, perfect drainage, constant wind, the grapes rigorously selected to maximise the potential of all components. After only brief skin contact, gentle fermentation takes place in stainless steel, followed by around six months of maturation on the fine lees, balanced and clear in style.

The Riviera Ligure di Ponente is not an easy landscape. There is little space between the sea and the Alps – the vineyards climb up terraces of dry stone walls, the slopes are steep, the paths winding, the harvest almost exclusively by hand. It was in this solitude that Riccardo Bruna began bottling his family's Pigato in 1970 – a bold decision at the time for a grape variety that hardly anyone knew. Majé is Bruna's most accessible Pigato: from the iron-rich, argillaceous soils around Ortovero and Ranzo, 200 to 300 metres above sea level, just 20 kilometres from the coast. Gentle pressing, fermentation and ageing in steel – the result is the character of this terroir in its most direct form.

In 2008, the Mazzei family began an agronomic and oenological research project to answer a single question: can Vermentino in Maremma really be great? Not pleasant, not pleasing – but great. Deep, complex, storable. The answer came with the 2021 vintage, when the former "Codice V" became "Belguardo V" – and with it the first ever Vermentino Superiore Maremma Toscana DOC on the market. The "Superiore" stands for a conviction that took 13 years for the wine to earn the designation.

It was very courageous when Michele Satta vinified the first Vermentino in Bolgheri in 1984 – at a time when the appellation had only just been created and white wine still seemed unthinkable in an area dominated by red wine. Costa di Giulia, named after a vineyard at the foot of Castagneto Carducci, was created as a single-varietal treasure from Vermentino until Satta made a far-reaching decision in 1997: the addition of 40 per cent Sauvignon Blanc was to give the wine more character and a more extracted, sweeter, broader finesse.

"My research into the world of white wines led to the creation of this unconventional wine. I have always realised that the most interesting aspect of Vermentino is in the skin. It is a delicious grape to eat, rich in aromatic notes. That's why I wanted to vinify Vermentino from the Le Gonnare vineyard, a small plot planted in 1987, and leave the skins to macerate with the must for 6 days during alcoholic fermentation. This has led to more aroma and the characteristic golden colour without making it heavy. A full-bodied and at the same time very cheerful wine." Fabio Motta

A white wine that immediately tells of south-west Sardinia as soon as it touches the palate. Villa di Chiesa originates from the sun-kissed slopes of the lower Sulcis near Porto Pino – calcareous, sandy soils and a sea breeze provide the aromatic essence of this characterful cuvée of Vermentino and Chardonnay. Even the name refers to history: "Villa di Chiesa" was once the medieval name for Iglesias, the town near which viticulture, mining and culture are closely intertwined – a subtle nod to the deep roots of this wine in the local context.

In Liguria, the question of whether Pigato and Vermentino are the same grape variety is answered with a Ligurian shoulder movement. Bruna cultivates both, appreciates both and gives each its own space. Vermentino grows in Valle Arroscia on loose, stony soil made from weathered sedimentary rock – lighter and more permeable than the Pigato plots, aromatic earlier, with a characteristic saltiness. 100% Vermentino, hand-picked, gentle pressing, fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature, short bottle ageing.

Vermentino can get burnt. Too much direct sunlight before the harvest and the berry loses its aromatic precursors – the bouquet flattens out, the palate becomes broader, oilier, with an almond-accentuated finish that conceals terroir instead of revealing it. This is a well-known pitfall on the Tuscan coast. In Montebamboli, it is deliberately avoided. The training is programme: Guyot on both sides, foliage kept dense so that the fruit zone remains in the shade. Only the shadiest grapes are harvested, where diffuse light protects the flavour. End of August, beginning of September, by hand, with careful selection. Cooled to 3°C overnight, then whole bunch pressing, static clarification. Fermentation 70% in steel at 18–20°C, 30% in new barriques. Six months on the fine lees with regular bâtonnage, six months in the bottle.

Vermentino is generally regarded as an everyday wine at a good level. Fresh, aromatic, made for summer. Vigne Surrau challenges this assumption with its "Life Edition". The same Vermentino, the same granite weathered soils of Arzachena in Gallura – but a radically different idea behind it: What happens if you give Vermentino time? Real time, that is. Hand-picking from mid-September, cooling immediately after destemming, short maceration at low temperatures, fermentation in stainless steel tanks at 16 to 18 °C with bâtonnage. Up to this point, the Life Edition corresponds to the famous Sciala. Then comes the difference: 12 months of ageing in equal parts in 225-litre Liters containers and Liters concrete vats – two neutral, low-oxygen vessels that mould the wine without overlaying it. Then at least 9 months in the bottle.

The grapes come mainly from the historic Russeghine vineyard above the town of Ranzo Borgo. The character of the Pigato here is of particular depth and minerality, which is due to the exceptional terroir and the long maturation on the fine lees. Bright straw yellow in colour with light green reflections. Fragrant nose of herbs, yellow fruit and traces of pine resin. Full and long-lasting flavour with beautiful spiciness and aromas of citrus and almond, then again this beguiling, deep minerality at the end. SUPERIORE.DE

In 2016, a vision was realised: San Felice, the historic winery in the heart of Chianti Classico, added a precious mosaic piece to its Tuscan wine interpretation – bell'Aja in Bolgheri. Under the guidance of Professor Attilio Scienza, the father of Bolgheri zoning, 15 hectares were created in the privileged Le Sondraie zone, just five kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea, where sandy-clay soils with an east-west orientation form a unique amphitheatre facing the sea. The Bell'Aja Bianco 2023 epitomises the Mediterranean soul of this young but already prestigious Tenuta. 90% Vermentino is combined with 10% other grape varieties to create a wine that carries the salty whisper of the nearby coast, yet retains the elegant signature of the San Felice style. Carlo De Biasi, General Manager at San Felice since 2022, is continuing the group's philosophy: three territories, three terroir interpretations – from Chianti Classico to Montalcino to this radiant jewel on the Etruscan Coast.

It is a story of transformation, written in the granite slopes of Gallura. Vign'Angena – the "foreign vineyard" in the Sardinian dialect – bears a name full of poetic irony. What once began as rented land, whose grapes Capichera used in the early years of her Vermentino revolution, became the quintessence of her own excellence. Since the first vinification in 1994, this DOCG wine has embodied the purest soul of the Gallurese terroir. Where the rows of vines between Olbia and Palau breathe the salty winds of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Vermentino thrives on the same soils that once harboured Nuragic giants. The nearby tomb of Coddu 'Ecchju silently tells of thousands of years of Sardinian history – here, where Fabrizio and Mario Ragnedda realised their vision of a new Vermentino era. No wood touches these grapes; only cool stainless steel preserves the crystalline purity of the harvest, which does not begin until mid-August each year.