Azienda Agricola Testamatta is an Italian winery run by Bibi Graetz, a winemaker of artist background from Italian/Norwegian heritage, who produces several Tuscan wines from vineyards located in the hills of Fiesole that overlook the city of Florence. Graetz has been described as a "cool winemaker" and "one of the rising young stars in Tuscany".Suckling, James, Wine Spectator (July 7, 2006). Crazy Thoughts in the Hills of Florence The wines are all classified as Toscana IGT.

History Perhaps due to his partial Norwegian ancestry, his mother Sunniva Graetz née Rasmussen married to the Swiss-Israeli sculptor Gidon Graetz, Bibi Graetz and his wines have received a great deal of attention from Norwegian press since the first vintage of 2000.Buzzi, Kirsten, Dagbladet (August 2, 2003). Norsk vinbonde gjør stor suksess i Italia Marthinsen, Tom, Dagens Næringsliv (May 29, 2007). Pengene, slitet og drømmene Marthinsen, Tom; Bø, Merete, Dagens Næringsliv (September 21, 2008). Lidenskapelig galskap Jacobsen, Aase, Verdens Gang (August 12, 2009). Bra vin, bra priser = bra sommer Marthinsen, Tom; Bø, Merete, Dagens Næringsliv (January 21, 2009). Nok en god vin fra Bibi Originally an arts graduate from Academia dell'Arte in Firenze, Graetz began wine production in the late 90s after facing the decision to either allow old lease contracts of the old vineyards surrounding his home at the Castello de Vincigliata to expire, or to make use of them. In collaboration with the winemaker Alberto Antonini, with whom he worked for four years, the production became highly successful at an early stage. Graetz produces all label artwork himself.Salvesen, Geir, Aftenposten (September 12, 2009). Norsk tornado i Toscana

Favourable scores from Robert Parker, and in particular a score of 98 for the Testamatta 2006 from Wine Spectator,Kramer, Matt, The Oregonian (January 04, 2009). Matt Kramer weighs the merits of multiple vineyard sourcesDalheim, Ulf, Adresseavisen (March 6, 2009). Norsk kunsteventyr på flaske i Toscana was followed by a November 2008 press release declaration by the township of Fiesole, as the score was proclaimed to have "made Fiesole a full-fledged member on the map of the great wines of Italy and the world".Città di Fiesole, comune.fiesole.fi.it (November 5, 2008). Fiesole strikes di Bibi Graetz Ziliani, Franco, Vinoalvino.com (December 12, 2008). Parzen, Jeremy, dobianchi.com (December 15, 2008). Tuscan city celebrates 98 points in Wine Spectator Despite imprecise commentary that designates Graetz' wines as Super Tuscans, the wines are exclusively made from traditional Italian grapes, and receive moderate amounts of oak treatment.

Graetz' mid-range wine Soffocone di Vincigliata was banned from U.S. import due to regulations that permit no wine label to feature any type of sexual imagery. This did not come into effect until Graetz had made public the explanation that his Vincigliata vineyard is a favoured destination for local young lovers, and "soffocone" is a crude Firenze term for fellatio, at which point the figurative label depiction was seen in a new light.Dalheim, Ulf, Adresseavisen (November 27, 2009). Bibi sensurert i USA Zalaznick, Jeff, Always Hungry New York (February 17, 2009). What’s In A Name?: Soffocone di Vincigliata A revised label image was later permitted for U.S. import.

Production

Graetz manages of vineyards, though of those he is himself the owner of .

Among the winery's bottlings are the flagship wine Testamatta, ("Hothead"), in recent years a 100% Sangiovese with an average production of , the limited production cuvée Colore di Testamatta from three equal parts Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino, with an average production of and Canaiolo di Testamatta from 100% Canaiolo, with a production of .

Additionally the Soffocone di Vincigliata made from single-vineyard grapes with a blending proportion of 90% Sangiovese, 7% Colorino, 3% Canaiolo has an average production of and Grilli del Testamatta ("Hothead’s Whims"), 80% Sangiovese, 10% Colorino, 10% Canaiolo, with a production of function as second wines. The entry label Casamatta (literally casemate, commonly "crazy house") made from 100% Sangiovese sourced widely from Tuscany has a production of and is in some markets sold in bag-in-box.

The winery also produces white wines, among which are the Bugia ("lie") bianco and Cicala del Giglio from the Ansonica grape sourced from the island of Giglio, and Bianco di Casamatta, widely sourced from Tuscan Vermentino grapes.

References

Bibi Graetz winery facts, Skurnik Wines

Footnotes

External links Bibi Graetz official site