Â
Wine with a difference! The new white, Gorgona, produced by detainees on the old prison island of Gorgona off the coast of Tuscany and sponsored by the famous wine cellar, the Marchesi dďż˝ Frescobaldi, is now available in selected wine shops.
The penal colony, dating from 1869, is the last island prison left in Italy. It holds 47 prisoners, who have been condemned to long prison sentences for serious crimes. However, they have been selected, thanks to good conduct and positive psychological evaluation, to serve the last few years of their imprisonment on the island, where they can undertake outdoor agricultural work in relative freedom.
The wine project was born a couple of years ago, thanks to a Sicilian prisoner who recognized the potential of the neglected and withering vines on the island and suggested restoring them to the prison governor, Maria Grazia Giampiccolo.
The necessary funding and equipment was provided by Lamberto Frescobaldi, vice-president of the Marchesi dďż˝ Frescobaldi winery.
This year's first harvest has produced some 2,700 bottles of Gorgona, produced from native Italian ansonica and vermentino grapes.
Info: www.frescobaldi.it/mondofrescobaldi
