Terre di Pisa

 

I have followed the region Terre di Pisa for a few years now, after a brief visit around two years ago. I was invited on a press trip to Tuscany, and visiting Fibbiano in Terre di Pisa was an eyeopener. 

 

Terre di Pisa is a relatively new appelation, streching from Pisa to the outskirts of Volterra from North to South, and around halfway towards Florence, just to give you an idea of where we are. San Gimignano and the different Chianti appletions, as well as Carmignano to the east, and Bolgheri to the South. 

 

We have local varieties, as well as international. Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc is found at several wineries in the region. Cabernet Franc can almost be seen as loval, as Catherine de Medici brought it here in the 1500’s sometime. Petit Verdot is another variety that is relatively normal here. Of the indigenous, Sangiovese off course, but also other Tuscan reds, Ciliegiolo is seen, Sangiovese Forte, a clone of Sangiovese can be found in Sanforte from Fibbiano, as well as Vermentino, Trebbiano and Malvasia. Meaning there is quite a broad diversity of styles. 

 

Soil is very fascinating in the area, as it is old seafloor, and some parts have been cioral reefs at some point. At Fibbiano, again, you can actually still se corals littered all over parts of the vineyard, and is probably the winery where this is most profound, but you see them in the soils of many vineyards. You nearly always find shells in the vineyards. And several wines of the area has a salinity in them. 

 

It was this soil and a tasting of fascinating wines, that I had never heard of, at Fibbiano, that led me to visit the region again, and I am currently on my third trip, and have visited nearly all members of the Conzorsio of Terre di Pisa, to better understand the region. And it feels weird to be amongst the first journalists to visit, and several wineries have told me I was the first to pay attention to the region, and that I am the first journalist to taste several wines in this region. That is an honour, as there are some absolute gems here. And I have no idea how they have been overlooked for so long.

 

But I will publish on the estates and their wines over the next weeks and months. There are many excellent value wines in the region, so pay attention, while it lasts. As many of them are really small production, so as soon as they get discovered, expect prices to rise. And there are some really lovely whites, and rosé wines in the region as well. Most producers are looking for importers as well, while some has allready established some importers in some markets. You are in the hart of the reagion after about 45 minutes in car from Pisa, and about an hour and a half or so, from Florence. 

 

And it is stunning vistas everywhere, and not that many tourists, so while you have Sienna about two hours away, and maybe around an hour or so to San Gimignano, you have all the tourist destinations close by, and yet you can be here without that many tourists everywhere. Which also reflects on the local restaurants, great local food, some of the best I have had in Tuscany, while prices tend to be 20-50% less than elsewhere in Tuscany. Several wineries also have oenotourism.