La Possa

Heydi Samuele Bonanini looks back to a long-forgotten time through his wines.
A time when the villagers of his hometown would set out into the steep slopes of the Cinque Terre to tend to ancient, almost forgotten grape varieties, dry their grapes in the open air, and craft Sciacchetrà from them. The present looks quite different. Mass tourism has taken hold in the Cinque Terre, offering most locals alternative ways to make a living.

Heydi’s decision to found a winery and rehabilitate old vineyards was therefore unconventional. La Possa—a name referencing the Possaitara, the valley that slopes down to the sea where his vines take root—is a cultural achievement, a wake-up call, an attempt to breathe new life into a once-great wine-growing region. It’s hard to imagine vineyards more spectacular than those of the Cinque Terre: above, the sky; below, the sea; and in between, cliffs and slopes densely planted with thousands upon thousands of vines.

Most of them grow on tiny, reclaimed plots and consist of ancient vine material. Heydi farms them with organic certification. Due to the rugged terrain, harvest is carried out using a kind of cog railway.

Bosco is his most well-known variety. Together with Albarola, which complements it perfectly, he produces Er Giancu and Cinque Terre—two precise, crystal-clear, and herbaceous white wines in which one particular element stands out on the palate, making his wines truly unique: salt. Lots of salt.
The sea leaves its mark not only on his white wines.

Its presence is even more pronounced in Sciacchetrà, a sweet wine made from sun- and wind-dried Bosco grapes, which eclipses almost every other sweet wine in Italy. Beyond classic dessert wine notes, the palate is filled with wild herb aromas, dried fruits, and—once again—the sea. If one were ever forced to award a wine the maximum score, La Possa’s Sciacchetrà would surely be a contender.