History and tradition are often the driving forces behind success, even in the world of wine. But sometimes exceptions emerge here as well—those who shake up the established order to create something new and successful. This is the case in the Upper Maremma, in Bolgheri.
No introduction is needed here: Sassicaia, of course, but that’s not all. Fascinating, unconventional, innovative—the Bordeaux-style blend, with Cabernet at the forefront, experimented with in the early 1960s by Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, shook up Tuscan winemaking as it was known. The rest is history.
Sixty years ago, wine here was still artisanal, made in September and drunk in February by the locals themselves, in a Bolgheri that bore no resemblance to the one we know today.
I, a native of the Marche region—or rather, a naturalized Russian—was out tasting Vermentino wines from Liguria, Sardinia… and Tuscany, when a small winery piqued my curiosity: Le Vigne di Silvia. A stand run by women, with a spontaneous, warm, and family-like welcome. Two young sisters with an unusual, unique story: Silvia, a former professional soccer player; Stefania, who lived in New York with her boxer husband.
They asked me where I was from: the Marche. Their family is from the Marche, a region to which they’re deeply attached. They let me taste their Vermentino, and here, too, a surprise: a variable percentage of Verdicchio to give the wine freshness and longevity.
A story that writes itself, born from a chance encounter and one that draws you in without asking permission.
Here I am in Bolgheri. In a region of red wines whose emblem is Sangiovese, where tradition and history serve as the foundation for wineries, for wines both small and grand. This is a place that defies convention, where history doesn’t tie back to the past but began almost from scratch about seventy years ago.
Dressed in work clothes, just like Silvia in the distance, doing everything that needs to be done on the estate. Carlo arrives, smiling, with a calm and reassuring demeanor. “I’m leaving you in good hands,” says Stefania. “Let him talk—he’ll tell you everything; he has an incredible memory.”
I recognize Stefania’s smile even before I recognize her, and it’s that kind of detail that makes you realize right away where you are.
Two beautiful cats peek out. Carlo points to the gray one: “That’s Verdicchio, and the other orange one is Vermentino.” In ’54, the Fuselli family—with Carlo just one year old— moved from the Marche region to the Bolgheri area, where the noble Della Gherardesca family was required to transfer part of their 7,500 hectares to private owners following the 1950 Agrarian Reform enacted by the De Gasperi government.
Thirty-five families left the Marche—sharecroppers who gave up everything to pursue the chance to finally own their own land. They abandoned everything, or perhaps nothing, but they certainly left behind the beloved land that would always remain in their hearts. This is true even for Carlo, who has never severed those ties, even after 72 years as a Tuscan. Those were years of hard work, but they were also beautiful. Marquise Clarice della Gherardesca established a school of excellence complete with transportation, a cafeteria, and health and dental care. The Marquis founded Tenuta San Guido and Sassicaia. Two visions that changed everything.
A community born from scratch, with a school, a cafeteria, a dentist, and a minibus that picked up the children every morning.
In the 1960s, the Marquis experimented with new wines in Bolgheri, using a Bordeaux-style blend: no longer Sangiovese, but Cabernet, Franc, Sauvignon, and Merlot. The first bottle of Sassicaia was produced in 1968. The rest is history.
In the 2000s, fruit and vegetable farming gave way to vineyards. The Fuselli family used to grow canning tomatoes, potatoes, basil, and watermelons. Carlo sighs as he recalls them: they were delicious.
The tradition remains rooted in farming, but today 6 hectares are vineyards, and the vine has become the new center of their agricultural identity. It’s a story that has only recently come to be about wine, but it first intrigued me and then inspired me because of the many parallels with my own story: women, sports, the Marche region, origins, family, humanity, and, above all, enthusiasm.
History is no guarantee of success, but the soul that this story infuses into the wine certainly is.
Bolgheri Vermentino “Giochessa” 2024, 95% Vermentino, 5% Verdicchio. An intoxicating, intense, seductive aroma. It’s sinuous, curvilinear, winding its way through notes of ginger, cooked fruit, ripe apricot, and quince jam; and then there’s powdery notes, passion fruit, broom, and sage. And as it warms, it reveals deeper, more distant aromas—the ones that linger to keep you company even when the glass is empty.
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a farmer,” reads the label on the bottle, a quote from Silvia, the former soccer player after whom the family winery is named. Not a dream pursued, but a destiny that weaves its way through life’s paths and ultimately brings you back home.