wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

Gorgona is Europe's last prison island. On its east coast, two and a half hectares of vines grow, cultivated organically by the prisoners. For ten years, the Frescobaldi winery has been in charge of this unusual resocialisation project - and the white wine produced on the island proves its quality.

White sneakers were not the best choice. After only a few steps in the vineyards of Gorgona, they are covered in red dust. Lamberto Frescobaldi has the advantage, his dark grey trekking shoes are much less affected by the reddish soil due to its iron content. The president of Marchesi Frescobaldi has known the conditions on the small island off the Tuscan coast for ten years. Because Frescobaldi's cooperation with the prison management began back in 2012 - and with it the Gorgona project. Only once a year is Frescobaldi allowed to bring a group of journalists to the island, which is strictly guarded by the Polizia Penitenziaria. The crossing by boat from Livorno takes about ninety minutes. The programme includes a tour of the vineyards, a tasting of the new vintage and lunch served by prisoners on the beautiful terrace. "This project fills us with greater pride every year, emphasises Lamberto Frescobaldi. "It contains everything: the love for this extraordinary island, the care and passion of the people who work here, the hope for a better life, the influence of the sea. This project constantly delights us."

Unique in more ways than one

The prison on Gorgona, the smallest and northernmost island in the Tuscan archipelago, was founded back in 1869. Today, between 70 and 90 prisoners live here, working mainly in agriculture. In addition to olive groves, vegetable cultivation and animal husbandry, there has also been a vineyard for more than twenty years. But the wine produced was only moderately good due to a lack of know-how. The director of the Instituto di Pena di Gorgona at the time, Maria Grazia Giampiccolo, was not satisfied with that. She wrote to a good 200 wineries asking for support in viticulture and in the cellar. In fact, Lamberto Frescobaldi was the only one who responded to her request. He at least wanted to have a look at the island. So on 3 August 2012, he crossed by police boat and visited Gorgona for the first time. He fell in love - "with the beauty, the wildness and the power of nature that dominates this island", as he says. This laid the foundation for what is now a successful resocialisation project. Frescobaldi wanted to get started immediately and took over responsibility for vinification with the 2012 vintage.

A second chance

Under the guidance of Frescobaldi's agronomists and oenologists, the prisoners at Gorgona gain tangible, practical viticulture experience. In the process, they can acquire skills that should make it easier for them to reintegrate into working and social life after their release. This is because Gorgona's inmates have committed serious crimes, they have been sentenced to many years in prison for murder, manslaughter, drug trafficking or bank robbery. They only spend the last three to five years of their sentence on the island. Mafiosi and sex offenders, on the other hand, are generally not admitted. Being transferred to Gorgona is a privilege granted to only a few: "Good behaviour" is the basic requirement.

"Each of these men deserves a second chance," Lamberto Frescobaldi is convinced and adds with pride: "The recidivism rate is extremely low. And a starting capital of 30 to 40,000 euros helps these people enormously, of course." Because those who work for Frescobaldi on Gorgona earn the usual wage in the industry, which is paid out when they are laid off. In addition, everyone who is made redundant has the chance to continue working for Frescobaldi for a year.

Shipwreck in the Mediterranean

Gorgona is a wild beauty whose partly untouched nature is strictly protected. The island is not only surrounded by crystal-clear water, but also rich in fresh water and vegetation. Forests of holm oaks and Aleppo pines as well as Mediterranean scrub characterise the landscape, joined by chestnuts, black alders, an autochthonous olive variety and hundreds of flower species. The island is also special geologically - it is a piece of the Western Alps that was virtually "shipwrecked" during the folding of the Alps millions of years ago. Thus, the island is largely characterised by limestone, but metabasites and serpentinites, dark green ferruginous rocks, also come to light. These three types of rock meet in the north-east of the island, where Gorgona's vineyards are located. The vineyard area is currently almost two and a half hectares, with the white wine varieties Vermentino and Ansonica (Inzolia) predominating. In 2015 and 2018, the vineyards were expanded and for a few years now, a Gorgona Rosso has also been pressed - a few hundred bottles from a few rows of Sangiovese and Vermentino Nero.

Anniversary vintage 2021

There are now as many as 9,000 bottles a year of the famous white Gorgona made from Vermentino and Ansonica. Nevertheless, it remains an exceptional rarity, which carries the salty air, the Mediterranean spice, the warmth of the sun and the refreshing sea breeze of the island in its taste. Suppleness, freshness and incisive saltiness characterise the 2021. As the tenth vintage, the wine marks a significant anniversary in the collaboration between Frescobaldi and the island prison. Each year, the bottle label tells of a different aspect of the multifaceted island. The 2021 edition celebrates the tenth Gorgona vintage with a tribute to the island and a thank you to all the people who have made this extraordinary project possible.

Photos: © Marchesi Frescobaldi

Related Magazine Articles

View All
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More

EVENTS NEAR YOU

PREMIUM PARTNERS