-Here we have an interview with Riccardo Binda, the president of the Bolgheri-Sassicaia association, first of all, can you tell us a little about the association Is the historical and current data relevant?
-This association, commonly known as the Bolgheri Association, was founded in 1995, practically at the same time as the Bolgheri red wine region was born.
The Bolgheri appellation itself was created in 1983, so the interval is not very short, when it only protected white and rosé wines. However, in 1994, its business also expanded into the red wine sector, which has since become the real heart of the region. Thus, when we were allowed to certify the quality and provenance of our red wines, this association was born.
At the time, only seven companies were part of the association, basically in the region where Bolgheri wines are produced, and today it has been nearly tenfold, reaching almost 70 (67 to be specific). All in all, the area has grown a lot and the number of producers has grown from 190 hectares of vines to almost 1500 hectares today and we have produced almost 7.5 million bottles of wine.
This has been the case for 25 years, so to speak, starting with an explosive phase, with an initial boom, and now we have entered a mature phase where Bolgheri is developing its image, consolidating its numbers.
So the goal for the future is to not live up to all the achievements the producers have made over the past 25 years.
-Sassicaia is probably one of the most well-known Italian wine brands in the world. This brand has largely driven the development of the association, and at the same time, this Sassicaia DOC entered the wine name. Is it?
-Of course, it is undoubtedly an irrefutable historical fact that Sassicaia was the first Bolgheri wine conceived by the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta.
His excellent intuition later inspired the entire region, which is recognized by all producers. . It is no coincidence that his son Nicola Incisa, still representing the vineyards, has been president of the association since its inception in 1995.
As we said, in 18 years he served six terms as president, and then at a certain age he decided to fade away, but that’s talking about the San Guidor winery, which is the producer of the Sassicaia.
How to keep it fundamental, how to have been a point of reference for the association. This is clearly shown by the fact that Bolgheri-Sassicaia began as a sub-region of Bolgheri in 1994 and became an independent DOC in 2013, since in order to carry out For this action, all other producers must vote for this change.
So the fact that all producers in Bolgheri agreed to create the Bolgheri- Sassicaia DOC, I think this is the most obvious fact, shows how much Sassicaia is in the history of Bolgheri Important also shows that Bolgheri manufacturers have given it the recognition not only in language, but also in material.
-What can we find in a bottle of Bolgheri today?
-In a bottle of Bolgheri we might find a Mediterranean expression. Regardless, the expression is associated with grapes that are world-renowned, and it’s a great hub since grapes like Cabernet and Merlot are consumed in some way in wine across the globe are well known.
Because they are Bordeaux grapes, one of the first to be introduced into the world, such grapes are very useful as a link, as they can convey the unique terroir of Borgheri, showing Mediterranean flair, elegance and finesse.
Based on these concepts, we can say that this is the common language of wine consumers around the world.
