Cooperativa Cinque Terre

In 1973 Cooperativa Cinque Terre was formed.  Their mission was to unite growers, protect biodiversity through viticulture and provide a voice for an underrepresented appellation on the rugged Ligurian Coast.  Today the Cooperative has over 220 growers, many managing their own individual rows on drastic hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean.   Gianfranco Vita, with his humble farmer demeanor, heads up winemaking and directs the growers in this picturesque territory.  A native of Liguria who opted out of the more common local trade of fishing and settled into the mountain trade of grape growing. 

 

Categorized as heroic viticulture, harnessing this unique terroir consists of constructing stone terraces, using cogwheel trains for safe harvest and often trellising with mini pergolas.  Drenched in sea mist and sunshine the focus here is old native vines of Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino each of which contribute to an unforgettable coastal profile in the wines.