78 Act II / Poggio al Tesoro, Nature and the Elements 79 Act II / Poggio al Tesoro, Nature and the Elements In addition to the local breezes there are others generated by Atlantic storms and by low pressure systems in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which give rise to wind at times of powerful intensity, but of limited duration: both the “libeccio” (from Libya) often followed by the mistral from the northwest. But these winds, even when of low intensity, move, in prevalence, from the Elba corridor, i.e. that arm of the sea between the promontories of the island of Elba and the peaks of the metal-rich inland hills. This corridor favors the flow towards Bolgheri of warm or temperate southern winds and shortens the transit of cold northern currents. But, if we wished to consider the importance of the Elba corridor in all of its aspects, we would need to go back in time to the Pliocene epoch when, for almost a million years, south winds blew and carried reddish brown sands from North Africa, from the Sahara desert, towards the Atlantic. These sands, brought by the winds to the entire Tyrrhenian coast, were scattered over the interior, while the sand which moved through the Elba corridor was trapped and deposited at the feet of the long chain of hills above Bolgheri, thereby creating a unique and incomparable environment. Even the God of the winds, therefore, had a lot to do with the creation of the soil and terrain of Bolgheri, and only now, with this wine, have we come to realize how important this exceptional phenomenon was. But then, even with the four elements of Nature, with or without divine intervention, the human factor was necessary to transform Bolgheri from a lovely spot, rich in landscape, history, art, and culture to a formidable place for the creation of great wine. However, the men and women will speak for themselves, tell their own tale. Let us hear them. Gigi Brozzoni Previous pages: Breeze and light on Via Bolgherese On the right: The Poggio al Tesoro farmhouse
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