A REAL LIFE GARDEN OF EDEN

A REAL LIFE GARDEN OF EDEN

For many, myself included, Venice is a bit of paradise, the perfect place to escape from real life and to switch off. We all know the mustdo things, the Peggy Guggenheim, a cocktail or two at the Daniele, lunch at Alla Madonna, a visit to Lorenzo Quinn’s Building Bridges and, if you are lucky, dinner at Avra at the Aman or Ristorante da Ivo (if they are good enough for George Clooney….)

When you arrive at Venissa, you will be amazed at how small the vineyard is. Only 0.8 of a hectare. But as they say, the best things come in small packages. And this is no exception.

But what many do not know (and I only discovered myself this year after going for over four decades) is that Venice has a very special winery and vineyard which are truly a little glimpse of heaven on earth.

Venissa is located on the tiny island of Mazzorbo. You can reach it by vaporetto (ACTV No. 12 water bus) from Venice itself and you can either go straight to Mazzorbo or get off at the exquisite island of Burano (maybe stopping for lunch at the divine Gatto Nero) and walk over the bridge.

When you arrive at Venissa, you will be amazed at how small the vineyard is. Only 0.8 of a hectare. But as they say, the best things come in small packages. And this is no exception.

How did this vineyard come about? Again what few people know is that Venice once had a huge tradition of winemaking. In 2002, Gianluca Bisol happened to stumble upon what was once a vineyard in Torcello. He was intrigued to know more and so met the owner who told him how the area was historically hugely renowned for its wines but this came to an abrupt and tragic end when Venice was flooded in 1966 and all the vineyards were destroyed.

Fascinated, Bisol started to do some more research and discovered that the Venetian vineyards grew a particular native grape, the Dorona de Venezia, which thrived in the saline soils of the region.

Determined to resurrect this lost tradition, Bisol searched for the perfect spot to plant Dorona vines and to start making the elixir that they can produce. His search ended when he discovered a plot in Mazzorbo, an area enclosed by medieval walls with a bell tower dating back to the 14th Century, its own chapel and surrounded by water on three sides.

Experts disagreed with Bisol’s choice, warning him that the high sodium levels in the silk were not suited for growing vines. Also there is the constant risk of destruction through flooding again.

Fortunately for wine lovers, Bisol stubbornly persisted with his plans and replanted the Dorona vines.

The results have been extraordinary in more senses than one.

Venissa produces two white wines (Venusa and Venissa Bianco) which, were you to close your eyes before you tasted them, you may not even identify as white.

Both wines are made using the more or less same winemaking techniques. Both have a length of skin contact (Venisa longer than Venusa) so making them more of an orange wine than a white. The wines are big, full bodied, bursting with aroma and taste. These are not for the feeble. They are quite high in ABV (13% for the Venisa and 12.5% for Venusa). Venisa is aged in cement, Venusa in stainless steel.

The wines - even though they are made from grapes from the same small vineyard taste completely different. Both are intensely floralyet miraculously fresh too. But Venusa has ripe fruit like peach and quince whereas Venisa has more dried citrus flavours, camomile, and even honey, nuts and licorice as it ages. Both are just exquisite and are more meditation, sipping wines than ones to be liberally consumed. Think more fortified wine or even sherry.

What is it that makes grapes from the same vineyard produce such differing wines? The plot of land looks flat but it was discovered that the depth varies hugely and so the roots grow differently, affecting the grape itself.

A truly magical story.

Even the packaging of the Venisa is a work of art. Because the wine can only be produced in small quantities due to the limited hectarage and the split of the two expressions of the grape, the wine is sold in 500ml bottles instead of the customary 750ml. The glass for the bottles is made in Murano and gold leaf is blown into the glass so it is an integral part of the bottle. This gold “label” is varied in shape slightly each year to mark the vintage. The number of the bottle is also etched into the glass. This is not a bottle you would ever throw away but something to treasure and enjoy forever.

Venissa also makes two red wines from grapes grown at nearby vineyards - I look forward to trying them on another occasion.

Visiting Venissa, walking around the vineyard and tasting the wines is a very unique experience. But it doesn’t end there. There is also a Michelin starred restaurant. The restaurant’s chefs - Chiara Pavan and Francesco Brutto - have a passion for sustainability which has also won them a Michelin Green Star. Vegetables and herbs are grown in the gardens (where locals are also invited to grow their own produce) and all ingredients are sourced ethically and locally. And, obviously the Venissa wines are on the list.

And if you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to. On site there is a small but perfectly formed hotel with five gorgeous rooms, all minimally yet ultra stylishly decorated.

Everything about Venissa - the wines, the food, the accommodation, the location, the style, the hospitality - is nothing short of perfect. It is completely unique, a once in a lifetime experience (or maybe a few times if you are lucky) that is most definitely not to be missed. ■

https://www.venissa.it/en

Venissa Fondamenta S. Caterina, 3 30142 Mazzorbo Venezia - Italy p.i. 03828090278

t. +39 041 52 72 281