In addition to his love for horses, the Marchese had a great
passion for wine, dating back to his days as an agronomy student
at the University of Pisa. The family that hosted the young Incisa
della Rocchetta in those days introduced him to wines from the
Bordeaux region of France, and the Marchese became curious
about how these wines were cultivated. Benedetta Marchetto,
public relations and hospitality manager at Tenuta San Guido,
explained, "He was drinking the best Bordeaux and it was easy for
him to be in love with it. He started to ask himself, 'Is it a matter of
[grape] varieties, or is it a matter of what we now called terroir?'"
The Marchese continued to study and ponder viticulture, but it
wasn't until he and Clarice relocated their family to Bolgheri in the
1940s to live on the property Clarice had inherited that he began to
put his knowledge into practice.
At the time, Italy was not considered to be a viable producer of
world-class wines, and Bolgheri's particular potential had yet to be
discovered.
The Marchese decided to
put his agronomy studies
to the test
AND SEE IF HE COULD
MAKE THE VINES OF HIS BELOVED
BORDEAUX WINES THRIVE
