The best Tuscan bottles to drink in Lucca

If you are looking for the best Tuscan bottles in Lucca, you probably don't need a lesson on wine. You need a table for tonight, a well-chosen bottle and something to eat that doesn't steal the whole show. That's why many guests walk into our place at Via Calderia 12, a few steps from Piazza San Michele, order something Tuscan and end up staying longer than planned.

We are open in the evening, Monday to Saturday, from 18:00 to 23:00. The wine list changes often, because the cellar changes often: almost 200 Italian and French labels, chosen bottle by bottle. It isn't a collection put there to make up the numbers. And the numbers aren't meant to impress anyway.

Tuscany is the starting point for almost every table. Brunello di Montalcino, Bolgheri, Sangiovese, Vermentino, older vintages when we have them. Then there are the small Tuscan producers, the ones that are harder to find elsewhere and that make the most sense while you're actually in Lucca, not once you're back home.

The best Tuscan bottles in Lucca, without a ranking

A ranking of Tuscan bottles would be convenient, but not very useful. It depends on how many of you there are, what you're eating, how much time you have and whether you want a bottle to remember or simply to drink well without debating it for half an hour.

For a couple arriving after a day in town, Brunello is often the natural choice. It has depth, it holds its own at the table, and it works with our slow-cooked beef roast, served with chimichurri sauce and a tangy beef jus. Nothing more needs adding. If you'd rather have a Tuscan red with a more relaxed stride, Bolgheri may be the right direction, especially with the sweet-and-sour pork ribs.

Sangiovese remains a broad word, and that's fine. It covers different styles, different vintages, different producers. What matters to us is putting bottles on the list that have something to say in the glass, not just a recognisable name. Some evenings the right choice is a Chianti Classico; on others, a Tuscan bottle with a few years behind it. We don't promise the same label every time. We promise to tell you what makes sense to drink that evening.

Vermentino deserves a note of its own. When the table wants to start light, or when you're sharing the Focaccia y Tomate – focaccia, Campanian tomato, Tuscan olive oil and Maldon salt – it's a deliberate choice, not a fallback. It's also the easiest way to begin if you'd rather decide on the red later.

Small Tuscan producers have a clear place

Lucca isn't just a city to walk through between walls, towers and squares. All around it lies the Tuscany of hills and vineyards, and some bottles from small producers bring a less obvious side of it to the table. For international guests they're often a discovery. For those who live here, they're a good reason not to drink the same things all the time.

We don't treat these wines as a curiosity to tick off. We suggest them when they're the right answer to a dish, an evening or a simple request: “We'd like to drink something Tuscan, but not the usual.” It's a request we like. It usually opens a useful conversation, not a performance.

A Tuscan cellar, with France in the background

Tuscany first. But our identity as a cellar doesn't end there. We also work with Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux, from great names to small producers, with a Bordeaux Experience that includes châteaux from the 1980s onwards. It's the French side of the list that contributed to the awards we've received: Star Wine List Best Newcomer 2025, Best Medium-Sized Wine List 2026 and the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2025 and 2026.

That said, we won't push you towards a French bottle if you came in for Tuscan wine. That would be a rather obtuse way of using a cellar. France is there for those who look for it, for those who come back for a second evening, for those who want to open an old vintage or compare a Tuscan choice with another path. Many start with Brunello. Some end up in Bordeaux. No route is compulsory.

For collectors, or for those travelling with a very precise list in their head, we may have rare bottles and mature vintages. For those in town for just two nights, we can also simply pick a good glass and leave room for dinner. The two things coexist without any trouble.

Wines by the glass, a reason to come back

We change our selection of wines by the glass often. It's the part of the list designed for those who don't want to open a whole bottle, but also for those who live in Lucca, on the surrounding plain or in Versilia and are looking for a real reason to drop by on a weekday.

A glass lets you drink a Sangiovese, try a Vermentino or choose a wine with a few years on it without having to organise a dinner for six. Sometimes we pour older vintages by the glass too. When that happens, we don't announce it as if it were a historic event. We simply pour it for you.

The format is also useful when the table has different tastes. One person wants Brunello, another prefers a Tuscan white, someone is already looking towards Burgundy. There's no need for a sad compromise. You can eat well and drink different things.

What to order with the wine

The menu is short. We like it that way. The Focaccia y Tomate is meant to be eaten with your hands and shared without ceremony. The slow-cooked beef roast is the dish for a bottle of red that deserves time. The sweet-and-sour pork ribs have a different rhythm, more direct, and work well when the table wants to share.

Then there's the pantry: cured meats from Culatta di Parma to Jamón 100% Ibérico de Bellota, Italian and French cheeses from Tuscan pecorino to Comté from the Jura, Gillardeau oysters and caviar. You don't have to order a full menu to have a good time at the table. You can drink a Tuscan bottle, add a couple of things from the pantry and stop there.

This is perhaps the most concrete answer for anyone wondering where to drink wine in Lucca in the evening: not a forced experience, but a bottle worth the table and dishes that go with it without covering it up.

If you'd like to choose with us

For those who want a little more context, we organise guided tastings that can be booked from 20 euros. They suit both those in town for a few days and those who want to come back and drink a different part of the list. We can also host private events, always with the same idea: choosing well, without turning the evening into a lecture.

Book via OpenTable or call +39 376 203 5395. If you're already in the centre and looking for a Tuscan bottle for tonight, drop by Via Calderia 12. Tell us what you feel like eating, how much time you have and whether you prefer Brunello, Bolgheri or something less obvious. We'll take care of the rest.

Pier Giulio Bendinelli