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Vini Bisson stands on the Tigullio coast at Chiavari. The Ligurian estate made its name by bringing back native grapes the region had nearly lost. Founder Pierluigi Lugano made the first Ligurian metodo classico. He then took a further step and aged it sixty metres beneath the sea off Sestri Levante, a technique no winery had used before. Today the estate pairs a historic enoteca in Chiavari with a cellar and agriturismo at Sestri Levante, opened in 2019. The Lugano family still runs both.
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The Bisson story begins in 1978, when Pierluigi Lugano and his wife Wally Bisson opened a Bottega del Vino in Chiavari. Lugano had trained as a sommelier. He saw what most Ligurian growers had given up on: the steep, sea-facing terraces of the Riviera di Levante still held grape varieties worth saving. He began buying small parcels from local growers and making the wine himself. He worked with Bianchetta Genovese, Cimixà, Ciliegiolo and other near-extinct varieties until they found a stable expression. From those trials came Musaico, the estate's signature red blend. They also brought the first commercial bottlings of Bianchetta and Cimixà to leave the region in decades.
Quality control pushed the family from buying grapes to growing them. Bisson now farms its own vineyards across the Riviera di Levante. The official site calls this a strict limit on synthetic treatments, rather than a certified organic protocol. The grape mix sticks to Liguria's traditional range. Bianchetta Genovese and Cimixà give the brisk, salt-edged whites, while Vermentino and Pigato give the body. Ciliegiolo and Granaccia make the reds. There is also the Sciacchetrà passito tradition of the Cinque Terre.
In the early 1990s Lugano made the first Ligurian metodo classico sparkling wine, registered as matricola number one in the province of Genoa. Late in the same decade he began studying a question no other producer was asking: could spumante age on the seabed instead of in a cellar? Several years of bottle, cap and cage engineering followed. The first Abissi vintage went down on 20 May 2009, lowered to sixty metres in the Cala degli Inglesi, inside the Portofino Marine Protected Area. The bottles were retrieved on 20 July 2010. The technique has been the estate's calling card ever since, covered by the New York Times, Telegraph, Forbes and Washington Post.
The two public faces of Bisson reflect that arc. The Enoteca Bisson on Corso Gianelli in Chiavari is the original 1978 wine shop. It still sells the estate's wines alongside a selected Italian and international list. The Cantina degli Abissi opened at Sestri Levante in 2019, inside a historic Tigullio vineyard. It has a restaurant, an underground cellar visit, vineyard aperitivi and seasonal events. The estate is now registered to Marta and Pier Luigi Lugano. Ownership stays inside the founding family, and the day-to-day work has passed to the next generation.
Plate I · LIGURIA
Wine area
The eastern Riviera's pleasure-coast, where Bianchetta Genovese, Vermentino and Ciliegiolo serve Genoa and the yacht crowd.
Vermentino
Bianchetta
Winery
Chiavari, Genova · Golfo del Tigullio and Portofino
Vermentino
Bianchetta
1 tasting and 1 tour, checked by our editors.
Tasting & Tour
Underground caveau visit at the Sestri Levante cellar with a guided tasting of the Bisson range, including the sea-aged Abissi metodo classico. Hosted at Contrada Pestella 42/1, opened in 2019.
on bissonvini.it
Vineyard Tour
Open-air aperitivo inside the historic Tigullio vineyard at the Cantina degli Abissi, paired with the estate's still and sparkling Ligurian wines.
on bissonvini.it
Experience
The original 1978 wine shop on Corso Gianelli, selling the full Bisson range alongside a curated Italian and international wine selection. Open Monday to Saturday with standard retail hours.
Not bookable online yet
Not seeing the estate you want? Estates without an online listing are reachable directly, and their phone and email are in Plan your visit.
Vini Bisson's current bottle selection is led by Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà DOC. The clearest grape signal comes from Vermentino and Bianchetta.
Tell us what you need and we'll help you reach Vini Bisson and arrange a visit or tour. We reply within two working days.
Liguria
Est. 1978 
3 wines 
Tastings
Tours
Walk-ins welcome 
