POSSA
Heydi Bonanini ; a man who devotes his energies to vineyards at the world heritage of a cliff.
The five villages of Cinque Terre, dotted on a steep coastline of about 20km, are recognized as a unique landscape created by human activities and are registered as a World Heritage Site. 100 years ago, the grape cultivation area was 1,400 hectares, but now it’s drastically reduced to 100 hectares. Heydi sensed a crisis in the fact and decided to follow the identity of this territory and start a winery, to protect the vineyard landscape that are proof of coexistence with the land, and the tradition of Cinque Terre with full respect for nature and traditions.
Founded: 2004
Region : Liguria-Riomaggiore/Cinque Terre/Italy
Wine Maker : Heydi Bonanini
Vines Area: 5 ha
Annual Production : around 20,000 bottles
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He studied and recovered several native varieties of grape that had almost disappeared, replanted them. In the wine cellar, he uses of the woods of the local traditional type, like acacia, chestnut and local cherry-tree. The amount of work here is daunting. His vines cling to the cliff in dozens of tiny plots connected by a narrow winding trail marked with warning signs. He has devoted the back-breaking effort that goes into every bottle of wine made in the Cinque Terre. His efforts include safeguarding local products like the Sciacchetrà which is a sweet wine made from only the selected best white grapes to dry. Some grapes fall down while being dried in the shade, so not all grapes left in the bunch are raisins and some rot. In order not to mix the rotten grapes, he sorts them by hand.