Sommelier and co-owner of Attico sul Mare in Grottammare, Sara Marconi has turned her passion for travel and wine regions into a unique approach: she tells the story of wine starting from the land and the people behind it.
Born and raised in San Benedetto del Tronto, Sara Marconi has been managing seaside venues since the age of 19, working with both dining services and evening events. In 2007, together with her brother Simone, she became co-owner of Attico sul Mare in Grottammare.
Her journey as a sommelier began in an unexpected way: once a teetotaler, she nonetheless attended bartender courses with Aibes and Planet One (2007–2008). In her mid-thirties, she decided to take a step further and enrolled in sommelier training, first with AIS and later FIS. By 2014 she officially took on the role of sommelier at the restaurant, curating a cellar that today counts more than 450 labels, many of which are the result of her travels across Italy and France.
Over the years, she has visited some of Europe’s most important wine regions, learning key insights directly on site and developing an approach that goes beyond the finished product, focusing instead on the stories, landscapes, and people behind each bottle. She likes to call herself the “unconventional sommelier”: in the dining room she doesn’t describe the aromas in the glass, but rather the scents she experienced in the land where the wine originates.
At Attico sul Mare, Marconi has also created immersive wine experiences: from menus built around a single bottle brought from home, to Coravin tastings where guests can enjoy a glass while keeping the rest of the bottle sealed, to the “corkage right,” allowing diners to bring and enjoy their own wines at the restaurant. In 2024, she also launched introductory wine courses at her seaside venue, sharing her vision with an increasingly curious and engaged audience.
Convinced that wine is a universal language, she tells guests about her travel memories, the scents of the places she has visited, and the struggles of winemakers, especially in the face of climate change.
