Lucca’s hill wines belong as readily at an enoteca counter as at dinner. Ask for Colline Lucchesi Rosso or Bianco by designation if you want a local red or white. Fattoria Sardi’s Rosé Primavere is a particular bottle rather than a catch-all regional style. After the meal, biadina takes you from wine to a distinctly Lucchese herbal liqueur.
Choosing and ordering local drinks
| Drink | What it is | When to have it | Typical serving price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colline Lucchesi Rosso | Lucca-hills DOC red | With dinner | €5–8 a glass |
| Colline Lucchesi Bianco | Lucca-hills DOC white | Aperitivo or meal | €5–8 a glass |
| Fattoria Sardi Rosé Primavere | Producer’s Tuscan rosé | Aperitivo or meal | €6–9 a glass |
| Biadina | Lucchese herbal liqueur | After dinner | €4–7 a small serving |
At a Lucca enoteca, ask which local wines are available al calice, by the glass. The selection varies: a named wine may be sold only by the bottle. Aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink with snacks, from a small plate to enough food for a light meal. For places to sit, see aperitivo stops in Lucca.
At restaurants, a seated meal commonly brings a per-person coperto, or cover charge, shown on the menu or posted before you order. Some wine bars charge it at tables even for drinks. Read the menu before taking a table. Do not assume counter and table service cost the same.
All four drinks contain alcohol. The wines are grape-based, with no meat ingredient in the styles described here. If you are gluten-sensitive, ask about the particular pour and its service, especially for the herbal liqueur, rather than assuming any drink is guaranteed gluten-free. If you want no alcohol, ask for a non-alcoholic drink instead of any of these four.
Colline Lucchesi Rosso
Colline Lucchesi Rosso is the DOC red of the hills around Lucca, based chiefly on Sangiovese. In the glass it is brilliant ruby red, tending towards garnet as it ages. Its taste is dry, harmonious and soft, with a livelier edge when young. Ask for the full designation if you want this style rather than simply any Tuscan red.
Have it with a savoury vegetable soup, or with egg pasta dressed in meat sauce: the former keeps the meal lighter, while the latter makes the red a natural dinner choice. At an enoteca, ask whether there is a Colline Lucchesi Rosso by the glass. At dinner, you can also look for a bottle, typically €18–35, with the choice and vintage affecting the price.
Tenuta di Valgiano makes one example of Colline Lucchesi Rosso using Sangiovese, Syrah and Merlot. Those three grapes describe that producer’s bottling, not every wine under the designation. If you spot Valgiano on a wine list, the name identifies a specific producer. For a different bottle, the DOC name is the more useful starting point.
Colline Lucchesi Bianco
Colline Lucchesi Bianco is the Lucca-hills DOC white, a pale straw-yellow wine with a delicate aroma and a dry, delicate, harmonious taste. Trebbiano Toscano forms its base, but the designation also allows other white grapes, including Vermentino and Chardonnay. The DOC name tells you more about what to expect than assuming every local white is a single-grape wine.
Choose a glass with fish-based pasta or fish at dinner, or take one at aperitivo if you want a dry white before eating. A bottle typically costs €18–30. The producer and the wine list influence what you pay. If you want the designated style, use the words Colline Lucchesi Bianco when you ask at an enoteca rather than just requesting a local white.
Villa Santo Stefano is another producer in the Lucca hills, but its Gioia is a Vermentino white. Ask for Gioia by its bottle name if that is the wine you want: being made locally does not make it a Colline Lucchesi Bianco. It is a useful choice when you want to explore a named white beyond the DOC style without confusing the two on a wine list.
Fattoria Sardi Rosé Primavere
Fattoria Sardi Rosé Primavere is a named rosé from a Lucca producer, not the name of a protected Lucca rosé category. Made from organic Sangiovese, Syrah and Vermentino, it is labelled Toscana Rosato IGT. Ask for Rosé Primavere at an enoteca if you want this particular wine, because a request for local rosé alone could bring a different bottle.
Expect a fresh, full, savoury palate with fruit on the finish. Fattoria Sardi describes wild rose, raspberry and melon on the nose, so this is a more precise choice than picking a rosé purely by colour. Take it as an aperitivo, or with seafood or a light pasta dish when you want something other than the DOC white. If it is on the wine list, a bottle typically runs €22–35. Producer and venue affect the price. A glass depends on what that enoteca has open.
Biadina
Biadina is Lucca’s bitter herbal liqueur for after a meal, rather than another wine to pair with dinner. Its infusion of herbs and spices is especially marked by anise and mint, giving it a sweet, aromatic flavour beneath the bitterness. Ask for a small serving at a bar or after dinner when you want to end the meal with a local digestif. If you prefer a dry drink with your food, choose a hill wine first. Biadina is the short pour that follows, with its herbal flavour taking the place of the wine’s grape character.
It is traditionally served with toasted pine nuts, which may arrive alongside the glass rather than mixed into the drink. If you want that accompaniment, ask whether they serve it con pinoli, with pine nuts. That question matters at the counter: ordering the liqueur alone does not tell you whether nuts will come with it. You can enjoy the nuts beside the small glass rather than looking for their flavour in the liquid.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: key figures.
- Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry — key figures
- Museo della Liberazione di Lucca — key figures
- Rosé and other wines | Fattoria Sardi
- Rosé Primavere | Fattoria Sardi
- Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies — key figures
- Azienda Agricola La Badiola — key figures
- Villa Santo Stefano — key figures
