The Venissa Estate

The Venissa Estate lies on , one of the three islands of Native , an archipelago of nature, colors, flavors, and art that also includes and . Venissa is the perfect example of a “walled vineyard.” It was restored by the Bisol family of Prosecco fame, and in it grows the Dorona di Venezia variety, native to the and cultivated for centuries until nearly becoming extinct after the great flood of 1966. Today, this walled vineyard produces 3000 bottles of Venissa, one of the most sought-after wines in the world by enthusiasts and collectors. In 2016, the popular American wine website VinePair named it the best white wine in the world. It is one of the most sought-after white wines in the world by wine enthusiasts, a unique wine with notes of salinity that recalls the lagoon and its perfumes. The walled vineyard is the backdrop of the Ristorante Venissa, where Francesco Brutto and Chiara Pavan put their own unique spin on Native Venice. Their dishes focus on fish from the lagoon, vegetables grown on the estate grounds by nine local pensioners, and wild herbs that the chefs pick among the rows of vines. Venissa offers avant-garde cuisine orchestrated by Francesco Brutto, who was named Best Young Italian Chef by renowned Italian restaurant guide “Ristoranti L’Espresso 2017.” In order to fully experience the world of Venissa, guests can stay at one of the five rooms located in the Wine Resort on the estate itself immersed in the lagoon and the vines, or in the thirteen rooms of Casa Burano, on the island of Burano, located just a short walk from Venissa across a small wooden footbridge, famous throughout the world for its fishermen, lace makers, and rainbow-colored houses. Fact Sheet The Venissa Estate

Location Venezia - Isola di Mazzorbo Fondamenta Santa Caterina 3 – 30142 +39 041 52 72 281 [email protected]

Owner Gianluca Bisol

Managing Director Matteo Bisol

Website www.venissa.it

Getting There Watertaxi from Venice: 20 min Watertaxi from Venice Marco Polo Airport: 30 min Vaporetto from Venice: 35 min (line 12 from Venezia Fondamente Nove stop) Vaporetto from Marco Polo Airport: 1h 15min (Alilaguna + line 12 from Venezia Fondamente Nove stop Venissa – The Wine

“While accompanying several customers on a trip to Torcello, I noticed an old grapevine in a private garden beside the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. I managed to persuade the owner to send me some of the grapes when they had matured. The crates arrived full of lovely, thick-skinned grapes with a brilliant golden color. It was the famous Dorona, also known as the golden grape, well-loved by the Venetians and served during the banquets of the Doges and then lost to history.” - Gianluca Bisol. Venissa’s story began by chance and resulted in an incredible discovery: some of the very last grapevines in Venice, the final trace of a winegrowing culture that was destroyed by the flood of 1966. It is a winemaking story that goes back more than 2000 years to 1100, when vineyards could be found in Piazza San Marco but whose ultimate destiny was to be cut down to make space for the great Venetian palazzos that the world admires today. There were many islands in the Venetian Lagoon where wine was produced until fifty years ago, especially on the islands of Mazzorbo, Burano, and Torcello, otherwise known as Native Venice. The Dorona di Venezia is a native white- skinned variety that adapted well to the high waters and the particular conditions of this unique terroir, and Gianluca Bisol discovered 88 vine plants in 2002 in the gardens and remaining vineyards of Venice. After the first microvinifications were carried out, Gianluca Bisol and his colleagues decided to replant the variety, which, in the lagoon, produces a nectar that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The ideal location turned out to be the island of Mazzorbo on the Scarpa Volo estate, which had been a walled vineyard and winery for centuries until the great flood of 1966. It is here that the Bisol family decided to replant 4000 vine plants of Dorona (less than 1 hectare) that produces 3000 bottles per year. Vinification is carried out by Desiderio Bisol and Roberto Cipresso, a renowned enologist with a passion for viticultural history. Cipresso calls for a long maceration on the skins, a practice once used by farmers, to obtain a white wine with the structure and longevity of a red. From the skins, the Venissa wine extracts the flavors and unique aromas typical of this inimitable terroir: notes of salt, honey, wormwood, and white peach. The bottle honors Venice’s past and pays homage to three local traditions: wine, gold, and glass. The inspiration was an immediate association of ideas, starting with the name of the variety: Dorona, the golden grape. One of the greatest traditions of Venice’s artisanal past is, in fact, that of the families of gold hammerers, the “Battiloro” in Italian. They hammer gold by hand, ultimately obtaining an impalpably fine gold leaf. It is a tradition that, like winemaking, had almost completely disappeared from Venice: of the more than three-hundred gold making families that once existed, only one remains, the Berta Battiloro family. Traditional Venetian gold leaf is applied by hand to each bottle of Venis- sa and baked onto the glass in one of the glassmaking ovens on the famous island of . Venissa has been a pioneer in bringing wine back to the lagoon, whose reputation is quickly spreading among international wine lovers as an ideal and unique place for viticulture. After Venissa came Rosso Venissa, a red wine produced from Merlot and Carmenere from a 50-year-old vineyard located on the island of Santa Cristina. Both are wines that immediately drew the interest of wine connoisseurs. The first vintage of Rosso Venissa, the 2011 harvest, was awarded 93 points by the prestigious Italian Veronelli guide, while the Venissa 2012 vintage of the Venissa wine was named Wine of the Year in Aspen. Fact Sheet The Wine

Agronomists Venissa follows natural viticultural practices, according to which attention must be given to everything that surrounds the grapevines in an attempt to promote biodiversity and create an environment with a natural equilibrium that requires minimum human intervention.

Pruning and Vine Management - Uva Sapiens Roberto Merlo and Leone Braggio

Enologists Roberto Cipresso and Desiderio Bisol

Mazzorbo Vineyard Variety Dorona di Venezia Surface area 0,8 ha Bottles produced approximately 3000 Suggested retail price € 140 per bottle Planted 2006/07 note_this vineyard is almost entirely submerged every 2-3 years because of flooding in the lagoon, a phenomenon that puts viticulture at risk while atthe same time giving great character to the grapes. A portion of the vineyard is plan- ted on ungrafted vines.

Santa Cristina Vineyard Varieties Merlot (83%), Carmenere (17%) Surface area 2.85 ha Bottles produced approximately 4000 Suggested retail price € 100 per bottle Planted 1960/70 note_the island of Santa Cristina is protected by embankments, thus preventing floodwaters from entering the vineyard. Nonetheless, salt is brought in bythe wind due to the fact that the vineyard is surrounded on all sides by the lagoon. Venissa – Il Ristorante

Venissa came to life thanks to the foresight and intuition of Gianluca Bisol, who, in restoring a wine variety that had altogether disappeared from Native Venice, created a Wine Resort. In just a few years, Venissa has become a reference point for lovers of great food and wine. The restaurant opened in 2010 and was awarded its Michelin star in 2012. It has always distinguished itself for the avant-garde cuisine it offers in the Venetian Lagoon, where young emerging chefs are free to interpret and highlight the abundance of local ingredients. Since 2017, Venissa’s kitchen has been in the hands of Francesco Brutto and Chiara Pavan, who strive to make innovative cuisine without being afraid to take risks. The incredibly talented Franceso Brutto is considered one of the most promising chefs in and was named Best Young Italian Chef by the renowned Guida dell’Espresso. Francesco is accompanied in the kitchen by Chiara Pavan, who shares Francesco’s philosophy of paying great attention to wild herbs and local ingredients. Venissa’s Managing Director, Matteo Bisol, says, “We’re thrilled to offer this kind of avat-garde cuisine involving the most talented chefs in Italy. It’s amazing to watch Chiara and Francesco give new life to local ingredients with new and innovative pairings that de- monstrate a harmonious and sensitive approach.” Fact Sheet The Restaurant

Chef Francesco Brutto and Chiara Pavan.

Wine List Tasting Venissa is an absolute must for anyone who visits the estate. All vintages and size formats of Venissa and Venissa Rosso are available on our wine list, in addition to over 200 labels from all over the world, with a particular focus on small producers from the surrounding area.

Sommelier Diego Laguzzi

Architecture and Design Mariano Zanon – Z A A – Treviso

Hours Lunch 12.30 – 15.30 Dinner 19.00 – 23.00 Closing day Tuesday

Annual Opening Beginning of April - End of October

Capacity 10 tables – 25 covers Outdoor dining available

Tasting Menu Embark on a gastronomic journey through the history and flavors of Native Ve- nice with menu selections inspired by local lagoon ingredients.

€ 120 - 5 courses € 150 - 7 courses € 190 - 9 courses Fact Sheet The Restaurant

Events & Weddings

Spaces Restaurant: up to 25 seated guests Garden: up to 80 seated guests; up to 120 guests for standing cocktail Wine cellar with a view of the vineyard and lagoon: up to 100 seated guests

Weddings Religious ceremony performed on Venice, Mazzorbo, Burano, or Torcello Civil ceremony performed on Venice or Burano Symbolic ceremonies in the garden beside the vineyard Venissa – Osteria Contemporanea

The lagoon and Native Venice have become a destination for gourmands from all over the world, and its culinary offering is becoming increasingly sought after and renowned. Traditional lagoon dishes are the highlight at Venissa’s Osteria Contemporanea, where Franceso Brutto’s talent is evident in uniqiue preparations and presentations only found at Venissa. Gianluca Bisol explains, “We want to offer food that unites tradition and innovation in a unique place where you can forget the craziness and chaos of the city for a moment and lose yourself in the peace and quiet of the lagoon.” The culinary offerings of the Osteria Contemporanea are accomapanied by an equally interesting wine list that is the result of careful research into “courageous” wines and producers. Fact Sheet Osteria Contemporanea

Cook Daniel Iori

Host Andrea Martin

Architecture and Design Mariano Zanon – Z A A – Treviso

Hours Lunch 12.00 – 16.00 Closing day Wednesday

Annual Opening Beginning of March - End of October

Capacity 12 tables – 28 covers Outdoor dining availalbe

Tasting Menu € 60 - 4 courses, wine not included Venissa – Wine Resort

Venissa offers a whole new way to experience Venice, starting with its fascinating lagoon, the favorite spot of many Venetians. Native Venice is made of up the islands of Burano, Mazzorbo, and Torcello, where Venice had its first beginnings. Now, it is a land o fishermen, lace makers, and farmers, a paradise for food and wine lovers and those looking to escape into an extraordinarily peaceful environment. The rooms are located in one of the most beautiful country houses in the lagoon, which was inhabited by the Venetian Scarpa family, who cultivated the vineyard and gardens until 1966. Today, following the recent renovations carried out by the Bisol family overseen by renowned Italian architect Mariano Zanon, the estate was reborn, maintaining the simplicity and beauty of the old lagoon home with design elements and meticulous attention to detail. The Wine Resort is frequented by guests who already know Venice and find peace and tranquility on the islands that are located a short boat ride away from the center of Venice. There are only five rooms on the guest house located on the estate, so we recommend reserving months in advance. The morning is the best time for Venissa’s guests: as they wake up, they are greeted by a gourmet breakfast served on the patio overlooking the vineyards and the garden. A truly peaceful way to start the day. Fact Sheet Wine Resort

Rooms 5 rooms

Average price € 150 – € 250 including breakfast

Architecture and Design Mazzorbo - Mariano Zanon – Z A A (Treviso)

Annual Opening Beginning of March - End of November In the “hotel diffuso,” or “decentralized hotel” of Burano, guests live side-by-side with locals. The rooms of the Wine Resort are located in many di erent areas of the island, nearby the old sh market, in the main piazza, and along the beautiful rainbow-colored canals of the island. The island is still inhabited by fishermen and lace makers - a community that continues to follow the rhythms of nature; genuine, real people. The islands of Burano and Mazzorbo are connected by a wooden bridge, one of the most beautiful parts of Native Venice, which boasts one of the most beautiful views of the lagoon: on one side is Venice, and on the other you see Torcello and the peaks of the Dolomites. Casa Burano offers a truly unique experience: guests are just twenty minutes from Venice, but at the same time immersed in the beauty of the lagoon and its beautiful colors. The renovation, completed in 2016, were created using the very best in Venetian resources thanks to collaborations with the most renowned design firms in the region. The floors of the entryways of all the guestrooms on Burano were done by Orsoni, the only remaining varnish and enamel manufacturer in Venice; since 1888 they have produced glass and gold leaf that are used in the most celebrated in the world, including St. Mark’s Basilica. The floors of the rooms on the upper level of the suites are produced by Itlas, a company that uses the same wooden planks sourced from the forests of the Veneto that were used to construct the Venetian Republic’s historic naval fleet. The furniture in the suites was produced by iconic design firms from the Veneto region, including Moroso, a chair and accessories producer that has collaborated with some of the greatest designers in the world; Arclinea, which makes innovative kitchen accessories with natural materials and avant-garde technology; Trend, a company that marries design and the art of mosaics; Glass 1989, a leading producer of spas and Jacuzzis; Panto, whose windows serve as a frame for the beautiful colors of the houses of Burano; FontanaArte, the famous lighting company that has created some of the most iconic lamps in the history of design; Bolzan Letti, who marries design and craftsmanship in its custom-made beds; and Vimar, a leading electronics company that has applied its home technology to the rooms of the suites on Burano. These companies believed in the Bisols’ visionary project of reviving the lagoon and have contributed to creating what is truly an inhabitable showroom. The Bisol family’s passion for its native region manifests itself not only through exquisite food and wine, but also through its investment in the best of Made in Italy design. A few of the experiences designed for our guests:

• Cooking classes dedicated to traditional lagoon cuisine with a wine tasting and herb harvesting in Venissa’s garden. • Rowing and gondola lessons in the lagoon organized by the Burano Rowing Association, which counts more than 150 local members. • Fishing in the lagoon with the Burano Fishermen’s Cooperative, where guests discover traditional lagoon fishing techniques, like harvesting mussels and moeche (local soft-shell crabs).

• Photography expeditions in the lagoon, where photographers from a local photography association take guests on a discovery of the Fact Sheet Casa Burano

Rooms 13 rooms

Average price € 150 – € 300 including breakfast

Architecture and Design Burano – Silvia Lupi – Studio Baukuh (Burano)

Annual Opening Beginning of March - End of November

Website www.casaburano.it