Labels&Tales

Last week, Margarethe and I tested a mock experience for the launch of our new adventure in Bolgheri. This time, we set our own pace with Wine & Walk, a new way of experiencing slow tourism: a path through extraordinary vineyards and landscapes immersed in the Mediterranean scrubland, with two or three stops at some of our favorite wineries along the route. 

A Weekend on Etna: A Wine, Food & Culture Escape in Sicily

Arriving in Bolgheri feels like stepping into a living wine museum. The famous cypress-lined road leads to vineyards just a few kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea—on the same coastal strip cultivated by the Etruscans more than two millennia ago.

From the Teatro del Silenzio to the Vineyards of Bolgheri

It was a stormy, foggy day at the end of January, and driving from Bolgheri to the Chianti region turned into quite an adventure. Margarethe was behind the wheel, focused and determined, while I sat beside her, watching the Tuscan landscape dissolve into mist. Rain, wind, and low clouds followed us all the way to Castelnuovo di Berardenga, where we had been invited to visit Borgo San Felice.

Today in Italy it’s December 8, the day of the Festa dell’Immacolata—and for me, the moment Christmas truly begins. It has been that way for as long as I can remember. This is the day I decorate the tree, a ritual that feels almost sacred: opening the boxes, unwrapping ornaments still holding traces of last year’s stories, and breathing in that first whisper of pine—real or imagined—that gently tells me, yes, it’s time.

Back to childhood, back to sensations that never really left, back to the roots that shaped your idea of home. For me, one of these places is the Mercati Centrali of Livorno.

If you’re driving between Rome and the Civitavecchia port, there’s a place you simply cannot miss: Monteverro Winery, tucked into the rolling hills of Capalbio in southern Tuscany. Visiting in November, with the breeze sweeping through the golden vineyards, is a sensory experience that feels both intimate and unforgettable.

Bottega Confidential

November in Tuscany feels like the region’s best-kept secret. The vineyards turn bronze, hearth fires crackle in village trattorie, and the pace of life slows to a rhythm that invites you to linger. Shop windows begin to whisper about Christmas—twinkling lights, wooden ornaments, panettone displays—hinting that winter is on its way. You arrive expecting quiet, and instead you find warmth, good food, and unexpected friendships around every corner.

At Bolgheri Wine Tours, we often hear visitors pronounce Bulgari instead of Bolgheri — and honestly, I can’t blame them. One is a world of jewels, the other a world of wines, but both share the same Italian flair for beauty and craftsmanship.

In March 2024, Margarethe and I had the pleasure of visiting Pasquale Pelissero, the family-run winery in Neive, Piedmont. The visit was recommended by our friend and collaborator Valerie, who is based in Alba, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable highlights of our trip.