During my recent visit to the Anteprime Toscane, I noted with pleasure just how many female sommeliers were working at all of the events. Many were from the Associazione Italiana Sommelier but others were from Fisar, which is another school in Italy. One of these lovely sommeliers was a woman named Lorena who I had met on another occasion. I believe her last name is Lasicci but I am not sure. When I met Lorena this time she was working at the event called L’Altra Toscana. A supremely fun part of the week when you get to try wines from some of the smaller consortium. She was working at the Maremma Doc table where I tried lovely versions of Ciliegiolo, Sangiovese, Alicante, Vermentino, and Ansonica – all monovarietal wines. They also were showing blends and some wines made with international grapes but I opted for these indigenous ones. Lorena was patient, professional, and fun to speak with during this time, showing me a variety of producers and helping me navigate the selection which was vast.

I ended my tasting with a beautiful traditional method sparkling wine made with Ansonica by Santa Lucia. I have known the family that runs this winery since I used to work with the Morellino Consortium from 2010 to 2016 more or less. Luca Scotto, one of the brothers who runs that winery was always a delight and they were attentive to trends and what was interesting to offer. I loved this sparkling Ansonica that Lorena suggested I try. In fact, I think I went back three times to make sure it was as good as I first thought.

Santa Lucia has 40 hectares of vineyards and is located in the Parco dell’Uccellina in Maremma which is Southern Tuscany. Working in vineyards has been the family business since the late 1800s on a vineyard on the Monte Argentario. It was Luca and Lorenzo’s father who really started the current business in 1980. Their vineyards are in the municipalities of Magliano in Toscana, Orbetello and Monte Argentario, all beautiful areas quite close to the sea. The Monte Argentario where they have some Ansonica grows is at 300 meters above sea level. They make a special wine from it called Eroica.

The Ansonica that I tasted comes from a different vineyards nearer to their headquarters on flatter land. After fermentation, the wine ages for 24 months on its lees before release. It had beautiful citrus, floral, and bread crumb aromas, a lovely perlage with fine bubbles. It is dedicated to the 6th generation of their family – Lapo.