Paraphrasing in reverse the well-known song by Edoardo Bennato, Gorgona can be defined as the island that exists. In what is the smallest portion of land in the Tuscan Archipelago, a unique project of its kind has been active since 2012 which combines the production of quality wines with the social reintegration of prisoners. Precisely in this strip of land, an authentic natural paradise, there is the only penitentiary island in Europe.
The Gorgona project is the result of the collaboration between the Frescobaldi winery and the Penitentiary Institute. Here the inmates have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills in viticulture and oenology, working in all phases of work in the vineyard and in the cellar under the constant guidance of expert oenologists and agronomists made available by the Marchesi Frescobaldi.
Giuseppe Renna, the prison director is fully convinced of this: “The aim of the project is to help our inmates acquire skills that can be used externally”. Almost everyone, thanks to this experience, has the possibility of being hired because working in a winery is a specialization that is in great demand today.”
There are usually four or five inmates involved in the project per season. For them, work in the vineyard and in the cellar becomes a path of personal growth and rehabilitation, which prepares them for their return to society after serving their sentence. But on the penitentiary island there is a lot to do for all 80 inmates who dedicate themselves to a whole series of agricultural or artisanal jobs. There are those who cultivate the vegetable garden and those who are carpenters or electricians.
Per un detenuto di origine piemontese (di cui non facciamo il nome per ragioni di privacy), attivamente impegnato tra i filari, è un’esperienza che avrà una significativa svolta per il suo futuro:
“I started working about two years ago, I did the 2023 season and the 2024 season; we operate in all phases of the vine cycle, from start to finish, from pruning to harvest, including hoeing, topping, staking of shoots. Before detention, I was already working in the countryside. Today I think this is my future, I was born for this.”
Among the prisoners, there are those who, thanks to regularly paid work, have had their first paycheck and those who have been able to buy shoes for their children with their honestly earned salary.
Giuseppe Renna adds: “The applications come from all over Italy, we make a selection, because anyone who comes to the island must have undergone a certain treatment course and basically cannot be a drug addict or a person who uses psychotropic drugs.”
In Gorgona the just over two hectares of vineyards are grown on sandy soils rich in iron.
They form a series of terraces arranged in a spectacular amphitheater that slopes towards the sea. The original vineyard was planted in 1999 and the new grafts in 2015 and 2018.
Gorgona Bianco is born from Vermentino and Ansonica grapes; Gorgona Rosso is produced from Sangiovese blended with Vermentino Nero. All processing phases take place on the island, only the final bottling on the mainland. Once the wine is ready in the small but efficient cellar on the island, the barrels are transported by ship to the mainland where bottling then takes place.
Lamberto Frescobaldi does not hide his pride in an initiative with a strong social content: “We fell in love with the quality that this island manages to express but also with everything behind it. Inside every glass of wine there is a world and also people who are trying to put their lives back together. We help them realize this beautiful idea.”
The first harvest of the Gorgona project was in 2012. The prisoners are the true protagonists of the production of two wines with an “attractive and wild” taste which fully corresponds to the spontaneous natural paradise that is the island.
Meritano attenzione particolare le etichette disegnate 
ogni anno diverse dallo studio grafico milanese di Simonetta Doni che così descrive quella del vino bianco: “L’etichetta di Gorgona vuole essere “l’edizione straordinaria” dell’isola, raccontandone ogni anno un aspetto differente. With Gorgona 2023 we wanted to talk about the wind or rather the winds that blow here, playing a primary role in daily life. I quattro venti, il Grecale, lo Scirocco, il Libeccio e il Maestrale diventano elementi fondamentali nella viticoltura dell’isola influendo sulla temperatura dell’aria e dunque sulla maturazione dei grappoli”.
The approximately 9,000 bottles produced each year are sold at high prices and the proceeds are reinvested in the Gorgona project. A model to be replicated in other realities, to give hope and new opportunities to those who have made a mistake and want to have a second chance.
Gorgona wines tasting
Frescobaldi Gorgona Bianco 2023 – Costa Toscana IGT 
From Ansonica and Vermentino Bianco grapes. The bouquet is complex, elegant, intense in which Mediterranean and iodine notes stand out. Among the Mediterranean scents, helichrysum, savory, rosemary stand out, followed by floral notes reminiscent of broom and chamomile. The fruity part tends more towards yellow peach, then turns towards exotic fruit but also towards cedar. Also noteworthy are the iodized and spicy components of rosemary and sage. On the palate it shows its savory, almost saline streak, driven by a lively freshness. A tense, long, dynamic sip.
Frescobaldi Gorgona Rosso 2021 – Costa Toscana IGT
From Sangiovese and Vermentino Nero grapes in equal parts. A range of delicate and composite sensations on the nose, between black cherry, juniper, cinnamon and then liquorice and incense which denote a clear balsamic matrix. It opens up in a very fresh, round sip, with sweet tannins, savory and medium-bodied. Overall a refined wine, perhaps a little constructed but with a certain perspective. You can drink it with satisfaction even in three or four years.