About Bibi Graetz SRL
Bibi Graetz is an Italian producer based on the slopes of Fiesole, near Florence, in Tuscany. Founded by Bibi Graetz in 2000, the estate is known for its flagship wines Testamatta and Colore, both produced from old-vine Sangiovese and other indigenous varieties. The winery operates from a historic villa and has gained recognition for its focus on rediscovering ancient Florentine vineyard sites.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Bibi Graetz SRL
History
Bibi Graetz is a Tuscan producer founded by an artist. Raised in a family of artists, he took over the care of old vineyards near his home above Florence in the late 1990s, when the contracts of the winemakers who had been buying the grapes were coming to an end. The first vintage under his own name was 2000, made with help from the oenologist Alberto Antonini.
His home is the Castello di Vincigliata, in the hills of Fiesole, which the Graetz family bought in the early 1960s.
The land and the vineyards
The estate puts old vines first. Its vineyards sit high, on poor and stony soils, around Fiesole, and are farmed naturally with the goal of showing what each site tastes like. The Testamatta vineyard, the first one Bibi worked, faces south west and holds Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino planted over eighty years ago.
Further away, on the Isola del Giglio, very old vineyards facing the sea give the white wines, made from Ansonica.
The wines
Testamatta, a Sangiovese, is the wine that made the name. Colore, a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino, and the Giglio whites such as Cicala del Giglio complete the picture. Fermentations start spontaneously, the red wines are punched down by hand in open top barriques, and old barrels are used for ageing.
Bibi draws the labels himself, which gives the bottles a look of their own.
Today
Winemaking now takes place at Aurora, in the main square of Fiesole. Bibi Graetz still runs the business. Published vineyard figures vary from source to source, so they are not quoted here.
- Founded
- 2000 (first vintage)
- Main grapes
- Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino; Ansonica for the whites
- Owners
- Bibi Graetz