The wineries worth a detour for the architecture alone

Renzo Piano in the Maremma hills

Rocca di Frassinello, in the hills above Gavorrano, is one of the world’s few wineries designed by Renzo Piano: a contemporary cathedral in the Maremma hills, blending Italian and French grape varieties. It sits 10 km from Il Pelagone, the parkland course in the Maremma itinerary, close enough to fold a visit into the same afternoon as a round.

Mario Botta on the Etruscan Coast

Petra, in Suvereto, was designed by the architect Mario Botta. It sits about 15 km from Riva Toscana, the anchor course of the Etruscan Coast: Bolgheri & Suvereto itinerary.

Archea Associati in Chianti Classico

Antinori nel Chianti Classico, in Bargino, was built by the architecture firm Archea Associati. It is 13 km from Golf dell’Ugolino, the anchor of the Chianti & Florence itinerary.

Werner Tscholl’s glass cube in South Tyrol

Further north, Kellerei Cantina Tramin in Termeno is built around a glass cube designed by the architect Werner Tscholl. It sits 11 km from Golfplatz Petersberg, inside the South Tyrol & Merano itinerary.

A sculptor’s shell in Umbria

Tenuta Castelbuono, in Montefalco, is built around the Carapace, designed by the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro rather than an architect. It is 24 km from Golf Club Perugia, in the Umbria & Lake Trasimeno itinerary.

Contemporary art at Ca’ del Bosco

Ca’ del Bosco, in Erbusco, took a different route from the others on this list: a contemporary art collection that runs through the estate alongside the wine itself, rather than a single signature building. It sits about 5 km from Golf Club Franciacorta, in the Franciacorta & Bergamo itinerary.

Built into the hill: Le Mortelle

Le Mortelle, Antinori’s estate on the Maremma coast at Castiglione della Pescaia, is a three-level gravity winery set into the hill. It is the closest pairing on this list: 2 km from Golf La Badiola, also inside the Maremma itinerary.

The abbey cellar: Badia a Passignano

The oldest building on this list is also the only one that was never designed as a winery. Badia a Passignano, Antinori’s Chianti Classico estate, sits inside an 11th-century Vallombrosan abbey, with cellars running beneath the monastery itself. It shares the Chianti & Florence itinerary with Antinori nel Chianti Classico, the same itinerary holding both the modern and the medieval version of the same family’s architecture.

Planning the detour

Five of these eight sit in Tuscany alone, split between the Maremma and Chianti itineraries, which makes a design-led wine trip through central Italy a realistic single-region plan rather than a cross-country one. The other three, in Franciacorta, Umbria and South Tyrol, each work better paired with the golf itinerary that already sits around them than as a standalone architecture tour.