Bolgheri () is a central

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

village and hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') of

Castagneto Carducci Castagneto Carducci () is a (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno. It is named after the poet Giosuè Carducci, who spent there some years ...

, a municipality (''comune'') in the

province of Livorno The province of Livorno () or, traditionally, province of Leghorn, is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It includes several islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, including Elba and Capraia. Its capital is the city of Liv ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. in 2011 it had a population of 131.

History

First mentioned in 1075, in a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

, its name derives from ''Bulgari'' (

for "

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

ns"), due to the presence of a

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

of Bulgarians, allies of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

Geography

Bolgheri lies in the foothills of the

Colline Metallifere The Colline Metallifere (), or the Metalliferous Hills ("Metal-bearing Hills"), are a mountain-hill group in the Tuscany, Tuscan Antiapennine, in central Italy. They occupy the central-western part of Tuscany, divided between the province of Liv ...

, south of

Bibbona Bibbona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno in the Val di Cecina. History The town's hilly location allowed for natural defen ...

( north). It is from Casale Marittimo, from

Donoratico Donoratico is a town in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Castagneto Carducci, province of Livorno. At the time of the 2011 census its population was . The town is about 52 km from Livorno Livorno () is ...

, from Castagneto Carducci, from

Cecina Cecina may refer to * Cecina (river), a river in Tuscany, Italy * Cecina (meat), a Spanish and Mexican culinary specialty made of beef * ''Cecina'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Pomatiopsidae * Cecina, Tuscany, Italy * C ...

, from

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ov ...

and from

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Main sights

* San Sebastiano * Santi Jacopo e Cristoforo * Sant'Antonio * Castle of Bolgheri

Wine

Bolgheri became an internationally known region following an event in 1974 arranged by ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equiv ...

'' where a 6-year-old

Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of "Super Tuscan" wine. It produces Sassicaia, a Bordeaux-style red wine. The estate also produces a second wine, Guidalberto, and a third wine ...

won over an assortment of

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

s. Prior to this, Bolgheri had been relatively anonymous producers of ordinary white wines and

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

s. Due to the particular characteristics of the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

and

micro climate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square meters or smaller (for ...

sunny, dry and moderately windy, the grape varieties of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

origin tend to thrive, such as

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

. Among the most known "Super Tuscan" producers are Tenuta San Guido who produce Sassicaia, Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia who produce Ornellaia, Ca'Marcanda of

Gaja Gaja () is a Sanskrit word for elephant. It is one of the significant animals finding references in Hindu scriptures, as well as Buddhist and Jainism, Jain texts. History In the context of the history of History of India, Ancient India, the earl ...

, Guado al Tasso of

Antinori Marchesi Antinori Srl is an Italian wine company, based in Florence, Tuscany, that can trace its history back to 1385. They are one of the biggest wine companies in Italy, and their innovations played a large part in the " Super-Tuscan" revoluti ...

, and newcomers like I Greppi who produce Greppicaia. In 2017, in Bolgheri opened The World Wine Town of Castagneto Carducci – a wine center, created by entrepreneur Franco Malenotti and designed by the Oscar-winning art director Dante Ferretti. The Sensory and Multimedia Museum in Bolgheri is housed in a two-story building (dating back to the 1500s), exploring the history of wine and food from the region and featuring a wine tasting area.

Bolgheri DOC

The current set of

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: People and characters * Doc, an abbreviation of doctor * Doc (nickname) * Doc (mascot), the Towson University mascot Persons * The D.O.C., American rapper (born 1968) * Doc Gallows (born 1983), ring nam ...

regulations for Bolgheri red wines became approved in 1994. Before the creation of this DOC, the "Super Tuscans" from the area were typically sold under the simpler designations ''

Vino da tavola Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not for ...

'' or IGT Toscana. The appellation rules determine that in Bolgheri Rosso and Bolgheri Rosé, Sangiovese may be utilised only to a degree of 70%, and in excess of this a wine must be classified IGT. Cabernet Sauvignon from 10 to 80%, Merlot, up to 80% and other local red varieties, up to 30%. Rosso must be aged for 24 months. For Bolgheri Bianco, Tuscan

Trebbiano Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

from 10 to 70%,

Vermentino Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Languedoc-Roussillo ...

from 10 to 70%,

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

from 10 to 70% and other local white varieties, up to 30%. Two

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

wines are permitted, Sauvignon blanc and Vermentino, of which there must be at least 85% of either grape variety. For the appellation's pink

Vin Santo Vin Santo (; ) is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, although Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as "Occhio di Pernic ...

, Occhio di Pernice, 50 to 70% Sangiovese,

Malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

from 50 to 70%, and up to 30% of other local red varieties. It must be aged for 36 months. The sub-zone Sassicaia has its own appellation declaration, with up to 85% of Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. Bolgheri Sassicaia must be aged for 26 months. It is expected to be upgraded to DOCG status.

Transport

Bolgheri counts a minor

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

on the

Pisa–Rome railway The Pisa–Rome railway (also called the ''ferrovia Tirrenica''—"Tyrrhenian Railway") is one of the trunk lines of the Italian railway network. It connects Italy’s northwest with its south, running along the Tyrrhenian coast between the Ita ...

, located away and next to

Marina di Bibbona Marina di Bibbona is a coastal town, a ''frazione'' of the municipality of Bibbona, in Tuscany, Italy. Marina di Bibbona is situated on the Tuscan Riviera, also known as the ''Costa degli Etruschi'', on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The town ...

. It is north of the exit "

Castagneto Castagneto is a ''frazione'' (outlying area) of the Italian city of Teramo. It is located approximately four miles from Teramo at the base of a mountain sub-range known as Monti della Laga. Nearby is a state highway, SP 50, which leads to the nea ...

", of the state highway SS1 "Aurelia", a dual carriageway connecting the two sections of the A12 motorway

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Gallery

Personalities

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, he became ...

(1835–1907), poet and writer

References

*Consorzio Bolgher
Bolgheri DOC regulations
;Footnotes

External links

Bolgheri DOC Consortium official site

Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia (DOC)
The Italian Trade Commission {{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Livorno Wine regions of Italy