An Evening with Aia Vecchia

Join us in welcoming Elia Pellegrini, the owner of Aia Vecchia in Tuscany, Italy, for a four wine, guided tasting of treasures from Tuscany on Tuesday, July, 7, 2026.

WHO IS AIA VECCHIA?

The Pellegrini family, Aia Vecchia’s owners, have been grape growers in the Bolgheri area for
several generations and have sold their grapes to many of the most notable wineries in the
region for decades. After replanting their original vineyards in 1995, the following year they took
the plunge and established their own winery with the goal of creating a portfolio of small-lot,
high-quality Super Tuscan blends focusing on Bordeaux grape varieties. The Pellegrinis also
located and purchased exceptional pieces of land in the Bolgheri DOC of coastal Tuscany,
which had been shown to be ideal for Bordeaux varieties.

On one of the family’s properties there was an old building called Aia Vecchia, which would
become the symbol and namesake of the company. The family enlisted the help of well-known
agronomist Daniel Schuster in selecting their plant material, which was imported directly from
Bordeaux. They also sought out the services of another highly talented consultant-Hungarian
winemaker Tibor Gal, who had been chief winemaker at the pioneering Super Tuscan Ornellaia
in Bolgheri.

Elia Pellegrini is the owner of Aia Vecchia, a small family-owned winery based in the Bolgheri
region of Tuscany, Italy. Every member of the Pellegrini family has come from this region and
Elia is now the fourth generation of the Pellegrini family working in the wine industry in Bolgheri.

Having grown up in the house right next to the family winery, Elia has always been surrounded
by viticulture. Wine has been a part of his life since he was a child and he has early memories
of playing soccer and riding his bike around the tracks that they would use to bring the grapes
into the cellar during harvest. Elia studied Linguistics in college and then went on to hold a
professional soccer career with Livorno in Serie A and with Colligiana in Siena and Pergocrema
in Serie C. Although he had a strong passion for soccer and a promising career, Elia knew his
path was obvious and, as he says it, “in my veins was wine instead of blood.” In 2011 at the
age of 22—also after a knee injury—Elia left his teammates and a professional soccer life to
join the family business full time.

Today he is the face of Aia Vecchia and splits his time working at the winery in Bolgheri and
traveling often to share his family’s wines with customers and friends throughout the world.

Light cheese and charcuterie will be served to enhance your experience.

Featured wines are offered at a 10% discount for attendees (15% for wine club members!).