Guado al Melo is a family-owned and run winery, managed by the Scienza family. It is nestled among the hills of the DOC Bolgheri, not far from the Tuscan coast. We are committed to the goal of producing great terroir wines, following a philosophy based on artisanality and sustainability, as well as to preserving our ancient traditions.

We, Annalisa and Michele, started our life’s work in 1999, in our early 30s. We had many dreams, but also a wealth of personal and familiar experience.

Guado al Melo now comprises 16.5 hectares of vineyards in production, rich in biodiversity. The winery itself is completely underground, constructed according to the principles of bio-architecture. It houses a fascinating museum about wine history and culture. At its heart is an extensive wine library, collated over a lifetime by Professor Attilio Scienza, Michele’s father, a well-known professor of viticulture.

"In cooler seasons, we frequently see little egrets moving gracefully and lightly through our vineyards in search of food. Grace and lightness are precisely the characteristics of this very pleasant wine, as well as a way of approaching life. They are white herons. This one is bright yellow to recall the color of the wine."    — Annalisa and Michele

L’Airone (The Heron) is born from Vermentino, a historic local variety, perfect for our vineyards marine and windy climate. In fact, it is typical of the Tyrrhenian coasts. Vermentino has been documented in our vineyards at least since the first half of the 19th century.

VINTAGE 2022: It has tended to be a warm year. After a rainy autumn, a dry and not very cold winter followed. Spring, however, was cooler than usual, followed by a hot, dry summer. A few rains in mid-August cooled the vines. Ripening then continued with milder temperatures, especially with much lower night temperatures. Our vines showed no signs of water distress thanks to the very deep alluvial soils, where the vines were able to develop a well-expanded root system over time. We harvested the Vermentino on September 12th. Heron is a brightly colored wine, pleasant and harmonious, tasty, with the grapefruit aroma typical of the variety, which also gives slight pleasant bitter notes on the finish. It also presents hints of exotic fruit and herbs.

L’AIRONE is a young, very pleasant, fresh and fragrant white wine. It is best kept in a bottle lying down, in a cool, dark place.

It should be served chilled, at about 8°-10°C (46°-50°F).

It is excellent on its own, as an aperitif, or paired with vegetarian, fish, egg or young cheese dishes.

Vineyard
It is born from our vineyards along the Fossa di Bolgheri stream. We manage them with care and expertise, according to the best practices of the sustainable winegrowing.

PRODUCTION: We selected grapes from homogeneous vineyard parcels. Each of them is harvested and fermented separately. Our work is handcrafting, done with the utmost attention to detail and the aim of enhancing the territorial characteristics of the grapes. The selected grapes were gently de-stemming and pressed after a few minutes from the harvest. The must was cleaned by natural precipitation, leaving it at low temperature for one night. At the end of the fermentation, the wine remained for about 4 months on the lees, stirring it frequently. After this period, we clarified it from the lees by a natural precipitation at low temperature and a light filtration. It remained in the bottle for at least 3 months, in the best storage conditions.

Climate
Mediterranean, tempered by the breezes from the sea, with a broad day-night temperature differentials on summer.

Soil
alluvial, very deep, sandy and sandy-clay, rich (more or less) of pebbles.

12.5% ABV

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