Michele Satta

Michele Satta was born in Varese and has Sardinian origins. He studied at the faculty of Agriculture in Pisa and arrived in Bolgheri in 1974. He worked as a laborer on the Tringali Casanova farm at Castagneto Carducci, an estate that grew peaches and strawberries. In the 1980s he founded his own company, devoting himself exclusively to wine and renting some vineyards and a wine cellar. His first vintage was 1983, and the first label with his name was Diambra, a white and a red. In 1984 he produced Costa di Giulia, the first 100% Vermentino from the area. In 1987 he made his first purchase as owner, the Costa di Giulia vineyard he had been renting, and built a cellar. In the early 1990s he bought all the land that now makes up the estate and gradually gave up his rental contracts so that he could make wine exclusively from his own grapes. When Antinori released its first Guado al Tasso, with the 1990 vintage, Bolgheri had six producers, Michele Satta among them. Alongside the Bordeaux varieties he planted Sangiovese, Syrah and Teroldego; the Teroldego was a gift from a former agronomy professor.

• 1983: first vintage; first label, Diambra, from traditional vineyards in a rented cellar
• 1984: Costa di Giulia, the first 100% Vermentino from the area
• 1987: purchase of the Costa di Giulia vineyard and a new cellar
• 1990: first label of Cavaliere, a 100% Sangiovese
• 1991: first vineyard planted for Piastraia

Michele Satta was one of the founders of the Bolgheri DOC and a founding member of the consorzio. In 1993 he began collaborating with Ornellaia as an agronomist. He worked as a consultant for Ornellaia and Grattamacco, helping to plant part of Masseto with viticulture consultant Danny Schuster. As of 2018, Sangiovese could make up to 50 percent of Bolgheri DOC and Bolgheri Superiore DOC blends, thanks in part to persistent advocacy by Satta.

• One of the founders of the Bolgheri DOC and a founding member of the consorzio
• Agronomist collaborating with Ornellaia from 1993; helped plant part of Masseto
• Advocate for keeping Sangiovese in the Bolgheri DOC and Bolgheri Superiore DOC blends

Michele Satta has been assisted throughout by his wife Lucia. Of the couple's six children, two followed in their father's footsteps: Giacomo, who joined the company in 2015 after earning his degree in agriculture in Milan, and Benedetta, who looks after marketing and communication (as of the estate's site, October 2026). By April 2018 Michele Satta had handed winemaking responsibilities to Giacomo, who converted the estate to biodynamic farming and began trying vinifications in cement tanks and clay amphorae. Giacomo Satta has used amphorae since 2017.

• Founder: Michele Satta, assisted by his wife Lucia
• Giacomo Satta: joined in 2015; in charge of winemaking by April 2018
• Benedetta Satta: marketing and communication

The estate's 25 hectares lie in the Bolgheri DOC. Its vineyards face north and west and sit in the most southern zone of the region, in the district known as Accattapane; they are Guyot-trained with low plant density per hectare, so as not to stress the vines. The soils are medium-textured and pebbly with a considerable loam content, very deep and very well drained. Michele Satta points to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which reflects sunlight, acts as a thermal flywheel and sends winds toward the coast, and to the surrounding hills, which protect the vineyards from wind and summer showers. In each vineyard the estate grows the varieties it considers most representative of the area: Viognier, Vermentino and Sauvignon for the whites, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese and Teroldego for the reds. The farm produces its grapes through biodynamic agronomic practices and also produces photovoltaic energy.

• 25 hectares in the Bolgheri DOC, in the most southern zone of the region (Accattapane district)
• North- and west-facing vineyards, Guyot-trained at low plant density
• Deep, pebbly, medium-textured soils with considerable loam, very well drained
• Named vineyards include Costa di Giulia, Vignanova, Torre, Poderini, Campastrello, Querciola and I Castagni

Piastraia began in 1991, when Michele Satta planted his first vineyard with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Syrah. The estate calls it the first wine in the territory to use the Bolgheri Rosso designation. From 2012 it became a Bolgheri Rosso Superiore; Syrah was phased out of the blend with the 2019 vintage and Sangiovese from the 2023 harvest, and Piastraia is now made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, matured in French barriques with 40% new wood for between 12 and 18 months. Marianova, first vintage 2015, was the first wine of the second generation: a blend in equal parts of Syrah and Sangiovese from the Vignanova vineyard, and the first Bolgheri Superiore with no Bordeaux grapes in the blend. Cavaliere, first labelled in 1990, is a 100% Sangiovese Rosso di Toscana IGT fermented in unglazed cement vats of 30 hectolitres with 30% whole clusters. The Syrah Rosso di Toscana IGT comes from the I Castagni vineyard and has been made as a pure Syrah since 2005. The Bolgheri Rosso DOC blends Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Teroldego from the estate's young vineyards. Among the whites, Costa di Giulia, an estate cru at the foot of Castagneto Carducci, is a Bolgheri Bianco DOC of 60% Vermentino and 40% Sauvignon Blanc; Sauvignon Blanc has been part of the blend since 1997, and the two varieties are fermented separately, Vermentino in steel and Sauvignon in concrete. GiovinRe is a 100% Viognier from a vineyard planted in 1997; it was first made in 2000. The range also includes a 100% Vermentino Bolgheri DOC from the Querciola vineyard and Michè, a 100% Sangiovese sparkling wine made by the ancestral method.

• Piastraia Bolgheri Superiore DOC: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
• Marianova Bolgheri Superiore DOC: Syrah and Sangiovese, first vintage 2015
• Cavaliere Rosso di Toscana IGT: Sangiovese 100%
• Syrah Rosso di Toscana IGT: Syrah 100%
• Costa di Giulia Bolgheri Bianco DOC: 60% Vermentino, 40% Sauvignon Blanc
• GiovinRe Bolgheri Bianco DOC: Viognier 100%

In the winery, vinification is traditional, with the stalks in the case of Sangiovese and Syrah, and maturation takes place in barriques, amphorae and concrete tanks. Piastraia and the Bolgheri Rosso ferment with spontaneous yeasts, Cavaliere and the Syrah with indigenous yeasts. The estate's history sets out Michele Satta's aim of making wines 'with as strong an identity as possible.' Speaking to Wine Spectator in 2018, he summed up his work: 'My job became expressing a sense of the Mediterranean in Bolgheri.' For the Bolgheri Rosso, the estate keeps maturations and extractions from ever being excessive, aiming for a wine 'representative of Bolgheri's joy.'

• Traditional vinification, with stalks for Sangiovese and Syrah
• Maturation in barriques, amphorae and concrete tanks
• Spontaneous or indigenous yeasts for the reds

Through the passion of Michele and Lucia Satta, the winery hosts events for all forms of art, giving particular space to young emerging talents. The winery, at Località Vigna al Cavaliere 61 in Castagneto Carducci, welcomes visitors for tours and tastings by reservation, from Tuesday to Saturday; visits include the historic cellar carved into the rock, with its amphorae, concrete tanks and French oak barriques.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://michelesatta.com/en/company/, https://michelesatta.com/en/history/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vineyard/, https://michelesatta.com/en/the-wines/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/bolgheri-rosso-doc/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/bolgheri-vermentino/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/cavaliere-toscana-igt/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/costa-di-giulia-bolgheri-bianco-doc/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/giovin-re-toscana-igt/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/marianova-bolgheri-superiore-doc/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/miche/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/piastraia-bolgheri-superiore-doc/, https://michelesatta.com/en/vini/syrah-toscana-igt/, https://michelesatta.com/en/tours-tastings/, https://michelesatta.com/en/art/. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (Robert Camuto, April 9, 2018: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/bolgheri-wine-outsider-michele-satta-camuto; Bruce Sanderson, April 30, 2018 issue: https://top100.winespectator.com/2018/article/tuscanys-napa/) and Decanter (Filippo Magnani, published 3 February 2023: https://www.decanter.com/premium/uncovering-the-hidden-gems-of-bolgheri-495029/; Richard Baudains, published 7 April 2020: https://www.decanter.com/premium/bolgheri-wines-at-25-a-retrospective-435177/). Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.