Bibi Graetz

Bibi Graetz founded his eponymous Tuscan winery in 2000. Born in Florence, Bibi comes from a family of artists. Bibi himself studied art before pursuing wine as a full-time endeavour. He still paints sometimes, notably for the striking labels of his wines including Colore and Testamatta. The operation is based out of a disused hotel, the Aurora, in the town of Fiesole which lies in the hills above Florence. Working with his own estate vineyards as well as fruit sourced from other growers, Bibi describes his model as “Californian”. His white wines Colore Bianco and Testamatta Bianco come from fruit grown on the island of Giglio, around eight miles from the Tuscan coast. Both wines are produced from the Ansonica grape; the island is home to a stock of old vines, some up to 100 years old. For his reds, he works with 100% Sangiovese fruit from a selection of vineyards in the hilly area best known for Chianti – though Bibi uses the Toscana IGT designation for his wines. Colore is now produced exclusively from old vines, at least 80 years old for the 2021 vintage. Bibi now makes Testamatta only from north-facing slopes.