SANGIOVESE BIANCO

The Origins of White Sangiovese at Poggio al Sole

 

Born in the hills between Panzano and Badia a Passignano

The history of the Sangiovese Bianco from Poggio al Sole began in the early 2010s, deep in the heart of the traditional wine landscape of Tuscany.
At that time, the concept of a white wine made from Sangiovese grapes was largely unknown in the region. No other winery in the Chianti Classico area had previously undertaken serious attempts to interpret the Sangiovese grape in this form.

The idea was simple to state and hard to do: vinify Chianti Classico’s red grape as a white wine, with no example anywhere in the region to copy.

The First Steps: Johannes Davaz and the Technical Creation of Sangiovese Bianco

When winemaker Johannes Davaz began to vinify Sangiovese “in bianco” (white) in the early 2010s, he entered uncharted territory. There was no literature, no empirical data, and no existing examples of white vinified Sangiovese to follow.

Every step of the process—from vineyard selection and pressing to fermentation and aging—had to be developed from scratch. Through numerous micro-vinification trials, Johannes discovered a stylistic approach that combines the crisp freshness of a white wine with the typical character of the Sangiovese grape.

The hardest part was the picking window: grapes ripe enough for flavour, but picked before the skins gave up too much colour. In the early years, missing it by a few days meant a trial lot came out as rosé — more rosato than we ever planned to make.

In 2013, the first market-ready Sangiovese Bianco was produced. Initially released for the Australian market with a different label, these early bottlings rank among the earliest documented Sangiovese white wines in all of Tuscany.

From Experiment to Unique Identity

Each vintage refined the method. Today the recipe is settled: 100% Sangiovese pressed straight off the skins, cold fermentation at 16 °C in steel, no malolactic, on the lees until the end of January, bottled in February — 35’500 bottles a year.

A Poggio al Sole Wine Firmly Rooted in Tuscany

A decade on, what started as a cellar experiment stands beside our Chianti Classico as a regular part of the range — and remains one of very few white Sangiovese bottlings anywhere in Tuscany.

 

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FAQ

What makes the Sangiovese Bianco from Poggio al Sole special?

The Sangiovese Bianco from Poggio al Sole is one of the very first white vinified Sangiovese wines in Tuscany. Through pioneering work in the Chianti Classico region, the structure of the red Sangiovese grape was successfully united with the freshness of a white wine. Johannes Davaz developed the technique from scratch — picking date, pressing, fermentation — with no prior examples to follow.

Can you make white wine from red Sangiovese grapes?

Yes, this process is called “Vinificazione in bianco” (vinification in white). In this method, the red grapes are gently pressed immediately after harvest so that the clear juice extracts no color pigments from the berry skins. The result is a character-rich white wine possessing the mineral depth and elegance of the Sangiovese vine.

How long has Sangiovese Bianco existed in Tuscany?

Although Sangiovese is the most important grape variety in Tuscany, the vinification into white wine was only adopted in the region in the early 2010s, initiated by pioneers like Poggio al Sole. The first market-ready vintage from Poggio al Sole was presented in 2013, marking the beginning of a new era for Tuscan white wines.

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