About Bibi Graetz
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
History
Bibi Graetz came to wine from art. He grew up in a family of artists, trained in the arts, and turned to winemaking in the late 1990s, when the leases on old vineyards around his home near Florence were about to lapse. He chose to work those vines himself rather than let them go. His first vintage was 2000, and he spent his early years making wine alongside the oenologist Alberto Antonini.
The home in question is the Castello di Vincigliata, above Fiesole. The Graetz family bought the castle in the early 1960s, and the vineyards beneath it became the starting point for everything that followed.
The land and the vineyards
The winery centres on Fiesole, the hill town overlooking Florence. The estate says its focus is old vines, high altitude and poor, stony soils, which it farms naturally so that each vineyard speaks for itself. Testamatta, the first vineyard Bibi worked, faces south west and carries Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino vines planted over eighty years ago.
Away from the mainland, the white wines come from very old vineyards on the Isola del Giglio, looking out over the sea, where Ansonica is the grape.
The wines
The best known wine is Testamatta, a Sangiovese from the old Fiesole vines, made in small quantity. Colore is a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. Other bottlings include Soffocone di Vincigliata and the Giglio whites, among them Cicala del Giglio, made from Ansonica.
In the cellar the approach is simple: spontaneous fermentations, open top barriques, punching down by hand and old barrels. Bibi also designs the label artwork himself.
Today
The wines are now made at Aurora, a winery in the main square of Fiesole. Bibi Graetz still leads the estate, and the range reaches beyond Fiesole to vineyards in other parts of Tuscany. What stays constant is the Tuscan grape list: Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino, with Ansonica for the whites.
- Founded
- 2000 (first vintage)
- Main grapes
- Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino; Ansonica for the whites
- Owners
- Bibi Graetz