Gorgona, the last island-prison in Italy where wine is produced by the prisoners and Frescobaldi

Gorgona is the last island prison in Italy and the only one in Europe. It was established over a century and a half ago, in 1869, but since 2012, it has become famous, thanks to a project where wine is an instrument of redemption, teaching that it is possible to change one’s life. Frescobaldi created the Social Project in Gorgona in collaboration with the historic Italian wine family and the prison of the Tuscan archipelago. It is now celebrating its 11th harvest, and beginning its second decade of production. They will be uncorking, in June, as usual, the new Cru, the white Vermentino and Ansonica vintage 2022. The Marchesi Frescobaldi Estate, together with the inmates of the penal colony, produced 9.000 bottles giving the inmates another possibility to rewind the tape of their lives by learning a trade, spending time profitably and believing in tomorrow. It is an "attractive and wild" wine. like the nature that plunges into the Tyrrhenian Sea, which tastes like redemption, diffused with hope and desire to rise up. “This project makes us prouder each year, and the 2022 harvest marks the second decade of the Social Project”, Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Marchesi Frescobaldi, explained, “we have the unique opportunity to experience the extraordinary island, of Gorgona, its perfumes and everything the flavours express; that is, love for the island, the care and passion of man, hope for a better life, the influence of the sea and a wonderful environment. There are just over two hectares of vineyards that have given life to an inimitable and exclusive wine, a symbol of hope and freedom that is magnified all over the world. Gorgona is a unique land, like the project, where production is very small, but never ceases to give emotions. The Gorgona label represents the “extraordinary edition” of the Island, narrating a different aspect each year. Gorgona 2022 again expresses the focus on the extraordinary biodiversity that this tiny island manages to preserve. The 11th harvest of Gorgona wines tells us about the orchids on the island and the numerous varieties that bloom at different times”.
Gorgona was created in a small vineyard of two and a half hectares wonderfully exposed to the East and protected from the winds, planted in 1999. It was also planted in 2015 and 2018, bringing back production, under the supervision of Frescobaldi agronomists and oenologists and cultivated by the prisoners, where the Vermentino and Ansonica grape varieties have always been the undisputed stars of this wine that embodies the essence of the island. Naturally, then, such a place could only generate an incredibly unique wine.