Il Vigneto Volastra

From this year, on request, with small groups of guests, in the surroundings of Volastra we will organize guided visits at our vineyards’ cultivation, to understand the unbelievable and hard work done by generations in the fields of the Cinque Terre. These excursions will end visiting our home-winery where we produce the DOC wine and the 5 Terre Sciacchetrà, still using wooden barrels and a centenary press.
During the visit you will be introduced to the various and endless steps of cultivation.
It begins with the pruning of the vine shoots and its tying on wire pergolas. This process is still done by using the broom, a natural plant that guarantees 100% biodegradability. Continue reading →

“Il Vigneto” is a family run B & B and it is called so, because our family is devoted to the cultivation of the vine, from the 800′s to the present day.
Our vineyards cover about 5,000 square meters on the heights of Volastra, 300 meters above sea level, just above the village of Manarola.
The cultivated land is on sloping hills and nowadays we are maintaining it thanks to the hard work of previous generations who had the ability to exploit this very steep territory by creating terraces supported by the famous typical dry stone walls, built with stones and dirt without any cement.
Our vines are supported by the so-called “autedo”, which is a typical pergola made of metal wires.
To give you an idea of the magnificence of our landscape, it is said that if one were to add all the dry walls of the Cinque Terre, their length would be equal to that of the Great Wall of China, s to say 6.350 kilometers!!!
That is the reason why the Cinque Terre have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage.
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The B & B “Il Vigneto” with the commitment of our family, continues to work the land and preserve the traditions, such as dry stone walls, which are not only “features” but are also very useful. In fact, due to the extreme steepness of our region, collapsing walls occur cyclically, resulting problems for cultivation.
Thanks to the great experience we have, we provide the reconstruction of the collapsed walls, according to an ancient technique which consists in putting medium and large stones on the front and a lot of small stones on the back to fill the gap.
This technique allows rain to filter, ensuring adequate drainage and avoiding excessive pressure that the ground armies on the wall, causing it to collapse.
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Besides the dry wine, we are dedicated to the production of the legendary “Sciacchetrà“, sweet dessert wine that is made from selected dried grapes.
The first phase is the selection of the most healthy and mature bunches which are cut and put down with great delicacy in “corba” (wicker basket with four handles).
We use the “corba” instead of a plastic containers because it prevents the crushing of the contents during transport.
The second step is to transfer the grapes from the “corba” to the wooden boxes that are placed on a terrace well-exposed to the sun. At dusk we proceed to cover the boxes to prevent that moisture affects the clusters causing rotten grapes.
After 7 to 10 days of sun exposure you proceed to the third stage that consists in moving boxes indoors, but in a well-ventilated area, where the drying of the grapes will be completed. Continue reading →

The harvest 2011 was good, both in terms of quality and quantity and as usual many persons have contributed to the harvest.
Fortunately most of the land is served by a monorail consisting of 3 wagons (1 for driving ad 2 for transportation) which can transport the grapes on the road, avoiding exhausting and dangerous transport on shoulders.
The monorail was installed in the 80′s and it is run by Coop 5 Terre located at Groppo (1 km from Volastra). Our family is founding member of the Coop 5 Terre and every year we confer the majority of our grapes. Continue reading →