The cultural itinerary: into the world of the vine and of wine

The wine culture itinerary is comprised of separate segments, and visitors can enjoy any or all of them, depending on their interests and time available:

1) The winemaking itinerary: through an examination of the winemaking activities, of related photographs and stories, one can trace the entire process of how dedicated winegrowers, committed to quality and tradition, make these wines.

2) The open-air museum of viticultural history: the Greek system of the alberello, or bush-trained vine; the Etruscan tree-trained system; and the pergola.

3) The vineyard collection: to enable experimentation, one vineyard is a true ampelographic collection, containing a large number of grape varieties from the Mediterranean basin and from the Caucasus area, as well as wild Tuscan varieties trained on living trees.

4) The museum: this small collection contains a series of exhibits and objects that recount the history of our area and of Guado al Melo, the local physical conditions that impact grape-growing, and the important contributions to the culture of wine made by the ancient Etruscans, who lived here.

5) The library: a collection of the life-long work by Prof. Attilio Scienza, with volumes on the world of wine, including the winemaking process, history, geography, tasting, etc. It also contains a small display of ancient texts on winemaking and viticulture.

6) The “botanical garden”: Here one can observe the many species making up the Mediterranean macchia, or scrub vegetation, both those growing atop the cellar, as well as the species growing in the wild around the vineyard near the Fossa di Bolgheri stream.