TRAVEL: Map: Maggie Nelson Maggie Map:

My perfect day in Cinque Terre Morning Afternoon Wake up to a view of vines, olives With your camera at the ready, and lemon trees at Buranco* estate take the half-hour ferry ride past in Monterosso, enjoy homemade clifftop and charming pastries for breakfast and hit the to . Andrea trails early. The rugged coastal Pecunia vinifies in terracotta views (and the walking) on the at the tiny Terre Sospese cellar two-hour trek to can (www.terresospese.it) near literally take your breath away. Riomaggiore’s 14th-century Travel to Vernazza to meet Bartolo church, and prefers the freedom of Lercari and Lise Bertram at their not keeping to DOC regulations. The Decanter travel guide to Above: the clifftop village of Manarola, where cellar, Cheo (+39 333 9594759). Try his decisive, structured rosé. vineyards seem to rise from the sea There, try Perciò, a white with a big Then head to Terra di Bargòn character thanks to the addition of (www.terradibargon.com) to see Pascoli have found inspiration in the wines. native Piccabon (aka Pizzamosca) traditional pergola vineyards and ‘In the past, every family made and, grapes to the more traditional taste Sciacchetrà paired perfectly Cinque Terre, following a decline, there’s been a reassuring Bosco and varieties, with veined goat’s cheese. return to the land over the past decade, with and Cheo Rosso, a peppery red excellent results,’ adds Riccobaldi. made with local Gamba Rossa Evening and overnight The two principal wine styles are made grapes and oak-aged for a year. The sunset over the sea from the Fact file A paradise for walkers, this nature. That harmony is reinforced by a with the native Bosco grape, together with idyllic location of A Pié de Mà Lunch Planted area 80ha astonishing corner of refreshing lack of traffic; the sheer slopes leave and Vermentino. Cinque Terre DOC (www.apiedema.com) back in Production 5,333 hl no room for cars and the roads that do exist (minimum 40% Bosco), a dry white, offers A terrace overlooking the sea at Riomaggiore is unforgettable. Producers 26, including reveals an age-old tradition of are long and winding, if panoramic, so herbal freshness and a pleasant sapidity. It is the sturdy medieval lookout tower Sommelier Yvonne Riccobaldi runs one cooperative vine-growing and a small but transport is dependent on the railway, a dense perfect with local seafood. of Ristorante Belforte (www. the wine bar; opt for one of her Main grapes (red) thriving food and wine scene, network of footpaths, and ferries in high Ideal with strong cheeses or cantucci ristorantebelforte.it) is the perfect proposed tastings to sample more Gamba Rossa, season. Olives, agaves and prickly pears add to biscuits, sweet Sciacchetrà DOC (minimum place to relax and refuel. The menu local wines with a cold platter or Bonamico, Canaiolo as Sarah Lane discovers the spectacular scenery and, as both a 85% Bosco) is an amber passito made with here is mainly seafood. focaccia. From there it’s 10 minutes (white) Bosco, Albarola, national park and marine reserve, the grapes dried on racks then fermented on the by train back to A Pié de Mà Vermentino, Piccabon/ A wild and rocky coastline with improbably environment is carefully protected. skins and vinified in steel, presenting an Monterosso and a Pizzamosca steep, terraced vineyards seeming to rise Despite being such a small area, wine explosion of honey, citrus and butterscotch, limoncino on the directly from the sea joins the dots of the culture is truly ingrained in the way of life. especially in the riserva version. veranda at Buranco* Cinque Terre, five tiny villages that have ‘Prestige wines have been produced here Riccobaldi is behind a successful scheme among the aroma remained practically unchanged since ever since the area was inhabited,’ explains to bring restaurant owners into contact with of lemon flowers. medieval times. Yvonne Riccobaldi, president of the local wine producers so that they are better The dry-stone walls supporting the narrow branch of the Italian Sommelier Association. qualified to advise customers. As she says, ‘you For more details on terraces are the result of centuries of gruelling The term Cinque Terre was first coined in really must see where the local wines come places marked with work and have led to Unesco recognition as an a 15th-century document referring to wine from to understand them’. Luckily, most an asterisk (*), turn extraordinary cultural landscape resulting for the tables of kings, and over the centuries wineries in the area offer vineyard visits and to p113

from man’s harmonious interaction with eminent writers from Pliny to Petrarch and Meijer/Alamy Henk Photograph: tastings, though booking is necessary. ➢

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Your Cinque Terre address book

Hotels as are the seafood ravioli. A rustic yet La Torretta, Manarola refined restaurant and wine cellar, Ten stylish Mediterranean and oriental located right beside the sea. rooms, each with a fabulous view and a www.ristorantedaucila.com different layout due to the original tower-house architecture. Guests can Shops use the panoramic terraces and open-air Enoteca Internazionale, jacuzzi. www.torrettas.com Monterosso Run by two sisters, both of whom are Porto Roca, Monterosso Trattoria dal Billy sommeliers, this wine bar has recently Most of the rooms at this peaceful started specialising in natural and bougainvillea-clad villa have antiques is made to order from a ball of fresh biodynamic wines. Come any time for from the owner’s collection and sea dough at this delightful, unpretentious a bite to eat and a tasting or to buy views. Facilities include a restaurant restaurant. Vegetarian options include products such as olive oil, honey and a wonderful seawater infinity pool. pasta scarpara with pesto and tomato. and limoncino, as well as wine. www.portoroca.it www.trattoriabilly.com www.enotecainternazionale.com

Buranco, Monterosso A Cantina de Mananan, Cantina Cinque Terre, This wine estate also makes olive oil and Corniglia Groppo limoncino and is open daily for tastings. An excellent eatery in former castle The local cooperative works assiduously Accommodation is in three apartments stables. As a member of Slow Food, the to assist its 200 members and the with fully equipped kitchens, and accent is on high-quality traditional independent wineries. The on-site shop, breakfast is on an appealing wood and ingredients, with dishes such as Ligurian which is a short bus-ride or 40 minute stone veranda overlooking the vines. rabbit with pine-nuts and gnocchi in walk from Manarola, sells the cantina’s www.burancocinqueterre.it walnut sauce. +39 0187 821166 full range of wines and other specialities; tastings and tours of the winery and Photograph: Glow Images /Getty images /Getty Images Glow Photograph: Edi, Riomaggiore Ristorante Miky, vineyards are available. Much Cinque Terre accommodation is in Monterosso www.cantinacinqueterre.com A good place to start is Terra di Bargòn for non-runners, as wineries invade the five Above, clockwise from self-catering apartments such as these The Defina family runs this classy (www.terradibargon.com) in Riomaggiore, villages, bringing a party atmosphere. top: vineyard views around Riomaggiore. Most have restaurant opposite Fegina bay. How to get there where Roberto Bonfiglio focuses exclusively In Manarola, where pastel-coloured from Cantine Sassarini; terraces; and La Conchiglia, over the The seafood-based menu includes Cinque Terre is about 100km from on Sciacchetrà. He’ll show you archive film buildings are piled above the dark rock of the the stunning coastline marina, even has a garden. Monterosso anchovies that have been both Pisa and Genoa airports. from the 1940s highlighting exactly how narrow marina and fishing boats line the road at Monterosso; Yvonne www.appartamenticinqueterre.net salted, marinated and stuffed, and Driving is not advised but there is arduously his predecessors worked, creating to the sea, Alessandro Crovara (www. Riccobaldi, president fresh fish baked in a wood-fired oven. a regular train service. Once there, new terraces from sheer rock faces, while cantinacrovara.it) runs a one-man show, opting of the local branch of Restaurants www.ristorantemiky.it be sure to invest in a Cinque Terre recent shots demonstrate how little has to use the minimum permitted Bosco and the Italian Sommelier Trattoria dal Billy, card for the free use of local trains changed: everything is still done by hand, higher percentages of Vermentino, Liguria’s Association; Santa Manarola Dau Cila, Riomaggiore and buses and for guided tours though some wineries do benefit from most popular grape, for his Cinque Terre DOC. Margherita d’Antiochia Chef Enrico Andreoli’s mixed seafood The pesto and potato gnocchi are both of the villages and vineyards. monorails provided by the cooperative. ‘It’s lighter and more fragrant so appeals to church in Vernazza starter consists of 12 dishes and pasta homemade here by chef Luca Giaccio, Riomaggiore, a medley of tall, narrow today’s market,’ he says, and for this reason houses, is at the steeper, eastern end of the his wines are among the first available every Cinque Terre, where much of the winemaking spring. Crovara agrees that Bosco is ideal for happens and quality is at its highest. The three the passito style, as the grapes have tough work with extreme precision and experiment The latest addition to the wine scene, new crus are here: Costa de Posa, Costa de Campu skins and are well spaced, so dry effectively. extensively with native vines. As president of label A Scià (‘The Lady’) is dedicated to the and Costa de Sèra. Corniglia, the clifftop village in the middle, the Sciacchetrà consortium, Lercari organises women who traditionally worked the local The latter is prospering thanks to the hard has a peaceful atmosphere and memorable a festival for the wine style each September. vineyards. An offshoot of Cantine Sassarini graft of cousins Orlando and Francesco views. Next in line is pretty Vernazza, with a At Monterosso, the westernmost village, the (www.sassarini5terre.it), it uses grapes from its Cevasco and Luigi Andreotti, who restored natural harbour overlooked by the two-floor landscape opens out into gentler slopes; it’s own vines to make Cinque Terre DOC, which their grandfather’s abandoned terraces at Santa Margherita d’Antiochia church. Here the the only one of the five with a proper beach takes on vanilla notes from barrique ageing. Cantine Litàn (www.litan.it). Cheo winery (+39 333 9594759), run by and solid fishing tradition. Anchovies, always The 2015 vintage was a record harvest all ‘As the terraces are even more precipitous, Bartolo Lercari and Danish wife Lise Bertram, on local menus, are celebrated with two round, with far better quality and volumes Sarah Lane is a visitors are warned that the Costa de Sèra has quite a substantial estate with 27 terraces annual festivals: fried and served with local up massively from usual; even so, production freelance journalist vineyard tour is a challenging one,’ says behind the village; most others struggle with wines in June, and salted in late September. is limited and Cinque Terre wines are nigh-on who specialises in Cevasco. He regularly runs the tracks and last modest plots here and there, the result of Another festival, in May, celebrates the area’s impossible to find outside the area itself. What wine, food and travel. March took part in Sciacchetrail, an annual successive generations of family fragmentation. Monterosso lemons, which can be particularly better excuse to visit such an extraordinary She has lived in Italy 47km trail run which becomes a wine festival The couple, both qualified agronomists, appreciated in the fragrant limoncino liqueur. and beautiful place? D for more than 20 years

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