Dalla Terra Winery Minutes are brief vignettes of our producers talking about their vineyards and their wines. In this Winery Minute we hear from Elia Pellegrini of Aia Vecchia.
Bolgheri is located in Tuscany near the Mediterranean coast and is known for the production of some of the most renowned wines in Italy.
The Pellegrini family were historically wine merchants from the Bolgheri region. After many years of selling grapes, Elia’s grandfather purchased land and they started making and selling their own wine in 1995.
The practice of growing Bordeaux varietals in Bolgheri began flourishing after WWII, gaining major momentum with the success of “Super Tuscan” wines in the 1970s.
Aia Vecchia’s first wine making consultant was Tibor Gal who created Ornellaia. He and Elia’s grandfather went to church together every Sunday and Tibor decided to help them produce their own wines as opposed to just being grape growers.
Vermentino is a costal white wine that comes from the Maremma coast which influences the salinity and freshness found in the wine.
“Lagone” is IGT but the grapes are from Bibbona, Bolgheri and Castagnetto Carducci so this makes it a very big value—more Super Tuscan than simply ”Toscana.”
“Sor Ugo” is Bolgheri DOC Superiore and is named after Elia’s great-grandfather, the 3rd generation of the family to grow grapes in the Bolgheri region.