About Cinqueterre
Cinqueterre is a cooperative winery based in the Cinque Terre area of Liguria, northwestern Italy. It is known for producing white wines from Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino grapes grown on steep terraced vineyards overlooking the Ligurian Sea. The cooperative also produces Sciacchetrà, a rare passito-style dessert wine that is closely associated with the region.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Cinqueterre
History
Cantina Cinque Terre is a cooperative of growers from the five villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. It was founded in 1973. At first it gave members a shared voice, and it then turned to supporting local viticulture.
The cooperative is credited with stopping the abandonment of the land and with building an international name for the local wines. It protects the Cinque Terre and Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà denominations.
The land and the vineyards
The vines grow on steep terraces held up by dry stone walls above the Ligurian sea, in a landscape that has been listed by UNESCO since 1997. The cooperative works about 46 hectares, and each of them counts as heroic viticulture, which means slopes above 30 percent, altitude above 500 metres, or terraces and small islands.
About 220 members own the vineyards. The cooperative also looks after the dry stone walls, the water network and the rack railways, and reinvests its income in protecting the area.
The wines
Production is about 200,000 bottles a year. The wines include the Cinque Terre DOC white, red wines, a sparkling wine and Sciacchetrà DOC, the sweet wine made from grapes dried on racks. Third party sources name Vermentino, Bosco and Albarola as its grapes.
Current labels include the Cinque Terre DOC, the Pergole Sparse and the Costa de Sera. The cooperative also sells grappa, citrus liqueurs, olive oil, honey and jams.
Today
The website lists cellar visits, tastings, a sales point and a symposium. Its motto, one landscape, one wine, sums up the idea.
- Founded
- 1973
- Vineyards (hectares)
- About 46
- Main grapes
- Bosco, Albarola, Vermentino
- Owners
- Cooperative of about 220 members