Bibi Graetz

  "I continue to be impressed with the beautiful wines of Bibi Graetz. These are highly singular, expressive wines that merit serious consideration." -- The Wine Advocate, Aug. 2009

"...one of Italy's finest growers...Bibi Graetz's wines always make me smile because they have an almost child-like joy about them." -- The Wine Advocate, June 2008

Growing up between canvases and paint brushes in an artistic family, Bibi Graetz has transferred his creativity from paintings to grapes/vines. Thanks to his passion for wine, which has grown stronger and developed little by little throughout the years, it convinced him that viticulture/winemaking could become his new profession.
Bibi Graetz got a diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts and today he is a wine-grower truly in love with his vineyard, in which he has transferred not only passion  but also his artistic talent. The choice of name of the wine ”Testamatta”(i.e. hothead) exactly reflects his passionate and determined nature.
Great intuition made him understand that the territory of Vincigliata in Fiesole had a potential for the viticulture, which had remained unexpressed for years. The soil is mostly made from clay and marl, it is rich in salts such as phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, and it can keep abundant water supplies. These two factors together with the help of the sand, allow to obtain a complete balance.

The “azienda” owns 4 hectares of vineyards. In addition to this, 10.5 hectares of vineyard are rented on a longterm basis and cultivated directly by the “azienda”. The main grape is the sangiovese ( 65-70%), followed by colorino and canaiolo (30%), and there are also some rows of black muscat and black malmsey. The age of the vineyards varies a lot, there are new plants not yet productive, but the major part of the vineyards varies from 15 to 60 years old. The selected method of growing is guyot and double guyot. This allows for a natural limitation of the production of grapes for each stub.

In a newly planted vineyard they are experimenting with a high density of the vines.This means one stub per every ½ metre and 1 meter between the rows, that makes 20.000 stubs per hectare. This way of planting has its origin in an old Tuscan tradition, when no tractors were used but rather ploughs.