Ortonovo
Lunae
On the route
View wineryLiguria · Wine route · 2 days
Colli di Luni and Tigullio Vermentino Coast Eastern Liguria's two Vermentino poles in one drive: Bisson's seabed-aged fizz at Chiavari, the Levanto terraces, then the Colli di Luni cellars ending at Ca' Lunae.
107
km end to end
2
days
5
stops, Vini Bisson to Cantine Lunae
3
denominations crossed
Why this drive: Vermentino is Liguria's white grape, and this coast holds both of its poles. At the Tigullio end, Bisson sinks its sparkling wine 60 metres to the seabed to age. At the Tuscan border, the Colli di Luni DOC grows the Vermentino that growers like Lunae and Ottaviano Lambruschi have made a national benchmark. Lunae's Ca' Lunae complex is the grand finale: cellar, wine museum and gardens in one 18th century manor. Every estate stop on this drive publishes bookable visits in our data, which makes it the rare Ligurian wine trip you can plan entirely in advance.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 5 · Vini Bisson
Day 1
Day 1 · Tigullio and the Levanto terraces
1
Stop 1 · The underwater cellar
Vini Bisson
Chiavari wine merchant turned winery, famous for Abissi, the sparkling wine matured 60 metres down on the seabed off Sestri Levante.
What to taste here
- Golfo del Tigullio-Portofino/PortofinoDOC Bianchetta and Vermentino off the gulf's steep terraces
- Abissi Seabed-aged sparkling: 60 metres down for 18 months, 30 for the Riserva
Bisson grew out of Pierluigi Lugano's wine shop and still bottles the gulf's own grapes. The bookable cellar visits run at its Sestri Levante cantina up the coast, where the underwater racks hold each Abissi batch at least 18 months.
Where to taste
Vini Bisson
View wineryWines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
Where to eat
Farinata from the wood oven
Antica Osteria Luchin. Via Bighetti 53, under Chiavari's arcades; the Bonino family has baked chickpea farinata here since May 1907.
2
Stop 2 · The smallest DOC on the coast
Levanto
Seaside town at the Cinque Terre's shoulder with its own tiny DOC, Colline di Levanto, on the terraces behind.
What to taste here
- Colline di LevantoDOC Vermentino and Albarola from terraces a few minutes off the beach
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC The neighbouring cliff DOC, poured all over town
Taste the local Vermentino and Albarola with lunch in the old town, then take the A12 over the cliffs to the Luni cluster: there is no coastal road through.
Where to eat
Fresh pasta and the day's fish
Osteria Tumelin. Via D. Grillo 32, in the 13th-14th century Casa del Capitanato; open since 1970, closed 12 January to 12 February and winter Thursdays.
Day 2 · The Colli di Luni cluster
3
Stop 3 · First of the Luni cellars
Tenuta La Ghiaia
Sarzana estate whose Vermentino grows on the stony plain of the lower Magra, first cellar door of the Luni cluster.
What to taste here
- Colli di LuniDOC Vermentino off the stony plain where the Magra meets the sea
- Liguria di LevanteIGT The looser coastal IGT for everything outside the DOC rules
Two bookable visits are published in our data; the estate's own website is currently offline, so book through the listings rather than direct.
Where to taste
Tenuta La Ghiaia
Booking required
4
Stop 4 · The DOC's hilltop capital
Castelnuovo Magra
Hilltop capital of the Colli di Luni DOC and seat of one of the Enoteca Regionale della Liguria's four branches.
What to taste here
- Colli di LuniDOC Poured side by side at the regional enoteca on Via Vittorio Veneto
- Ottaviano Lambruschi The Castelnuovo grower who set the Vermentino benchmark
The regional enoteca at Via Vittorio Veneto 2 pours the DOC side by side; Ottaviano Lambruschi's cellar made this village the Vermentino benchmark.
5
Stop 5 · The Ca' Lunae finale
Cantine Lunae
The Bosoni family's Ca' Lunae complex at Luni: cellar, wine museum in an 18th century manor, gardens and tasting rooms.
What to taste here
- Colli di LuniDOC Etichetta Nera is the DOC's best-known Vermentino
- Vermentino Nero The rare local red grape Lunae helped bring back
Book at Ca' Lunae, Via Bozzi 63: three guided tasting routes run year round, and the museum grew from Paolo Bosoni's own collection. Etichetta Nera is the bottle to carry home.
Where to taste
Lunae
Booking required
Wines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
Spring or September, not August
Easter to October is the window. July and August load the coast roads with beach traffic and fill Levanto, so spring and September are the comfortable months, and September adds harvest in both clusters. Winter thins the coast out: Tumelin at Levanto, for one, closes from 12 January to 12 February, and estate visits drop to appointment only.
Booking reality
Every estate on this drive books
All three estate stops publish bookable visits in our data: Bisson at Chiavari, Tenuta La Ghiaia at Sarzana and Lunae at Ca' Lunae, seven bookable offers between them. Book Ca' Lunae direct at [email protected]; it runs three guided routes year round. Tenuta La Ghiaia's own website is currently offline, so its published visit listings are the reliable way in.
Driving notes
One motorway jump in the middle
The drive is two clusters joined by one motorway jump: no road threads the Cinque Terre cliffs, so take the A12 from Carrodano above Levanto down to Sarzana, about 50 minutes. In July and August the Aurelia coast road crawls with beach traffic, so do the long legs before mid morning. Fuel and services sit on the A12 and around Sarzana. The lanes up to Castelnuovo Magra are narrow but short.
Getting a car
Two rail lines bracket the drive
Two rail lines bracket the drive: Chiavari sits on the Genoa to La Spezia line and Sarzana on the La Spezia to Pisa line. You can arrive by train at either end. Collect a car at Genoa airport for the full route, or hire from La Spezia and drive only the Luni cluster. That cluster packs three tasting stops into eleven kilometres of road. The A12 links the two halves.
Leave the driving out
Do this route with a guide
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Tours in this wine area
Nearby, not the route itself
Tigullio: Private Sunset Tour with Swimming and Food and Wine Tasting
Escape the crowds: enjoy the Tigullio at sunset on a private inflatable boat. Explore the coves of Zoagli, dive into calm waters, and enjoy an aperitif with local wine...
2.5 hours
From €550
Book via
Getyourguide
Where else to taste
Estates between the stops
One more estate sits on the line without being at any of the towns above.
0
Where to sleep on the route
One estate on this road has rooms, so you can book the cellar and the bed together.
Reading the labels you'll pass
The wine country it crosses
Before you ask
Colli di Luni and Tigullio Vermentino Coast, answered
A Vermentino-led DOC that ignores the regional border: its vineyards run from eastern Liguria into the first hills of Tuscany around the old Roman city of Luni. Castelnuovo Magra is its hilltop capital, and the whites from producers like Lunae and Ottaviano Lambruschi are the benchmark most Italian Vermentino is measured against.
Abissi, made by Bisson of Chiavari: a classic-method sparkling wine from Bianchetta Genovese and Vermentino that ages on the seabed at about 60 metres. It stays down a minimum of 18 months, 30 for the Riserva. The racks first went down off Portofino's marine reserve; since 2015 they sit off Riva Trigoso at Sestri Levante.
No. No through road runs along the Cinque Terre cliffs, which is why this drive jumps from Levanto to Sarzana on the A12, about 50 minutes. If you want the villages themselves, leave the car at Levanto and ride the train: the coastal line stops at all five.
Plan on booking. All three estate stops publish bookable visits in our data: Bisson, Tenuta La Ghiaia and Lunae, with seven bookable offers between them. Ca' Lunae takes reservations directly at [email protected] and runs three guided routes. The walk-in option is the Enoteca Regionale della Liguria branch at Castelnuovo Magra.
Spring or September. Both halves are coastal, so July and August mean beach traffic on the Aurelia and full car parks at Levanto. September adds harvest in the vineyards. In deep winter part of the coast shuts: Tumelin at Levanto closes from 12 January to 12 February, and cellar visits go appointment only.
At Ca' Lunae, Via Bozzi 63 at Luni, the comune that took back the name of the Roman port city in 2017. The Bosoni family's complex holds the cellar, a wine museum built from Paolo Bosoni's own collection in an 18th century manor, a liqueur laboratory and gardens. Give it a full afternoon.
No. Eastern Liguria has no signed strada del vino, so this drive strings the region's two Vermentino poles into one itinerary. The institutional stop is the Enoteca Regionale della Liguria, whose Castelnuovo Magra branch at Via Vittorio Veneto 2 has poured the region's producers side by side since 2011.
More drives in Liguria
All Liguria routes2 days
Cinque Terre Terrace Trail
Five car-free villages, one ticketed cliff path and the steepest vineyards in Italy, walked from Levanto to Riomaggiore.
- Levanto
- Monterosso al Mare
- Vernazza
- Corniglia
- Manarola
- Riomaggiore
Take it with you
Save the 4 estates on this road as a trip
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