Wine Travel
Liguria, Paradise by the Sea
A beach at Monterosso, one of the five towns of the “Cinque Terre” along the Italian Riviera...
Just in time for summer, we travel to one of the most compelling seaside destinations along the Mediterranean coast. Known as the Italian Riviera to the rest of the world, in Italy the region makes up the province of Liguria. It stretches from the French border in the north, and forms a narrow, inverted crescent-shaped band that generally runs southeast along the coast, to the town of La Spezia. It boasts approximately 180 miles of coastline. Liguria’s largest city, Genoa, lies at the top of the “crescent”, approximately in the center of the entire region.
The province sits nestled between the rugged Apennine Mountains and the Ligurian Sea, which acts to form a unique micro-climate protecting the region from temperature extremes. The geography leaves little available land for vineyards, at least when compared to the rest of Italy. Although it has a high population density, almost all the residents live in towns, and much of the land remains forested. Most of the rocky coastline remains unspoiled. This makes the towns and relatively few beaches along the shore prime tourist destinations. Liguria is a land of exceptional charm and stunning natural beauty.
As to the Ligurian wines, they have less notoriety than the small resort towns of international fame that dot the coastline. For the most part, wine production remains a family run endeavor, with very low quantities produced. Most Ligurian wines are consumed locally, and very little ever gets exported outside of Italy. Due to their proximity to the sea, most locals enjoy the wines with freshly caught seafood.
The promenade by the sea in Santa Margherita...
View of Santa Margherita from the Hotel Continental...
While southwestern Liguria provides the site for most of the region’s best wines, the Riviera Levante in the southeast garners the most visitors and fame as an international tourist destination. And for good reason. Here, the resort towns including Sestri Levante, Camogli, Santa Margherita and Portofino offer a small town intimacy. Lying just south of Santa Margherita, the Cinque Terre is a Unesco World Heritage site, featuring five tiny villages, with several impossibly perched on cliffs above the sea. Rapallo, another popular destination with tourists, has a more developed, modern feeling to it that seems to betray the traditional old-world ambience of the other nearby towns.
For my visit to this amazing area, I made Santa Margherita my base to explore the region. The town proved an excellent place to stay. Most of the hotels are located at the south end of town, and within easy walking distance of the only train station. The Cinque Terre lies to the south, only 30 minutes away by train. A train north to Genoa takes about one hour, which makes for an easy day trip to see that historical city. The visitor may reach the lovely village of Portofino by boat or bus, and each takes about 30 minutes. The transportation costs to each of these destinations is quite reasonable.
Santa Margherita has a quaint charm you won’t experience here in the good old USA. Its beachside promenade offers the sea on one side flanked by palms trees and pastel colored buildings on the other. It sits in a valley that frames the idyllic town with green hillsides. Night time entertainment consists mostly of going out to dinner with friends, or watching soccer in the Italian version of a sports bar; televisions set outdoors in the nearest piazza. It provides a very relaxing place to spend some time.
The harbor at the village of Portofino...
Relaxed Santa Margherita is downright frenetic when compared to the little village of Portofino, a small but stunningly beautiful village just to the north. Known for years as a hideout of the rich and famous yachting community of Europe, Portofino still has its share of jumbo yachts, and provides a halcyon seaside respite. But for those seeking hot late night action, search elsewhere. The place is tiny. Try the wine bar to the right side of the harbor as you pull in by water taxi (or yacht, if you have good fortune!) from Santa Margherita. Also, take a hike up to Castle Brown, which towers above the harbor and provides incredible views.
Many of the better known wineries of the region are located in the town of Imperia, just a short drive down the main highway from Ventimiglia. These include Colle dei Bardellini, Maria Donata Bianchi, and Bruna. Again, since most of the wines are consumed locally, these wineries have little notoriety outside of Italy. In fact, it would prove difficult to find any Ligurian wines for sale here in Las Vegas.
Looking back towards Monterosso on the Cinque Terre trail to Vernazza...
One of the more notable wines along this rocky coastline is Sciacchetra, a hard to find sweet white wine that many believe is the premier wine of the region. Made entirely from Cinque Terre grapes, mostly Bosco and Vermentino, this dessert wine pairs well with the local pastries and strong cheeses. It has a relatively high alcoholic content.
Another interesting wine I discovered by stopping at the Entoteca Internazionale in Monterosso was a very surprising red wine produced by Buranco, a Ligurian winery based in the town of La Spezia. Buranco prides itself on organic wine making from Cinque Terra vineyards. The winery produces a red wine that blends locally grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah to produce a wine completely out of context with other wine made in the area. In fact, their Rosso Buranco probably represents the only wine made from these grapes in the entire region. The wine came highly recommended by the entoteca’s proprietor, and upon imbibing two glasses with my dinner, I enjoyed the wine so much I purchased two bottles to bring home. The red wine proved surprisingly complex, with lots of red fruit flavor, some sweet red pepper and some minerality similar to a Bordeaux wine. Now, not really THAT complex, but still a very pleasant surprise.
The most notable wines from the region come from southwestern Liguria, near Ventimiglia, the last town in Italy before crossing into France. The Nervia Valley leads inland from the town and eventually to the village of Dolceacqua. Graceful mimosa trees line the lower slopes of much of the valley and in springtime light up the Valley with a panorama of yellow flowers. Few visitors frequent this route, as it remains well-off the beaten path for tourists. Around the village, vineyards grow the grapes used to produce Rossese di Dolceacqua, also known as simply Dolceacqua, a DOC wine with soft fruit and full flavor. This wine has a reputation for having good depth and fullness, with red fruit dominating the overall flavor. The entire drive from the coastal town of Ventimiglia to Dolceacqua and return should take less than two hours, even allowing for a brief stop at the village. Few visitors frequent this route, as it remains well-off the beaten path for tourists.
Monterosso seems to have the most going on, with two nice beaches and a plethora of small restaurants, bars, shops and lodging possibilities. Still, in summer I would definitely recommend reservations. One wine bar, the Enoteca Internazionale, at Via Roma 62, had some very nice local wines along with some varied tasting options.
Wines from the Cinque Terre come from terraced vineyards so steep farming them requires demanding labor from workers with no fear of heights. It simply amazes that anyone would even contemplate planting grapes on some of these seaside slopes!
The village of Manarola, Cinque Terre coast...
Village of Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre...
This southwestern part of Liguria is known as the Riviera Ligure di Ponente. Besides the Rossese grape described above, the region produces the red varietal Omeasco (the local name for Dolcetto), and two white grapes, Vermentino and Pigato. Vermentino typically produces a fragrant, dry white wine that goes well with seafood. Fine Vermentino often exhibits crispness with honey, lemon and orange blossom characteristics, mixed with creamy, rich freshness. Pigato is often full-bodied, with a creamy texture accompanied by vanilla, honey and tropical fruits. Both whites often have a minerality or underlying saltiness, no doubt an influence of the close proximity of the vineyards to the sea. They pair wonderfully with clams, oysters, shrimp and fresh fish.
With the exception of the sweet wine Sciacchetra, none of the Ligurian wines have a great reputation for long term age-worthiness, although both Vermentino and Pigato sometimes improve with a little aging. If you have the good fortune to find a bottle of these wines, I recommend having it with a nice seafood dinner certainly within three years of its vintage. Unfortunately, even the delicious red wine from Buranco turned out not to hold its own over time. I opened the first bottle within a few months of returning home, and still found it very nice. The second bottle I opened about a year later, and it proved quite disappointing. This disappointment might have been due to simple bottle variation, rather than it being “over the hill.”
Traditional Ligurian food specialties include delicious pesto sauce made from fresh basil, the famed Taggiasca olives, rabbit with olives and pine nuts, La Spezia clams, salted anchovies, filled pasta, goat stew, and a vegetable dish known locally as torta pasqualina. The torta represents a true iconic dish of the region. Because of its small size and close proximity to Piedmont, the larger Ligurian restaurants often have foods influenced by that neighboring region, such as adding truffles to certain dishes.
Should you have the opportunity to visit Liguria, I highly recommend staying at the Hotel Continental in Santa Margherita. The classic hotel has incredible grounds, stunning views of the town, a saltwater pool and a very friendly, helpful staff. They even held my large suitcase when I checked out for an overnight stay in Monterosso. Perched on a small hill and within easy walking distance of the town and train station, it makes for a very convenient and romantic place to explore the region. While not inexpensive, its prices proved better than most comparable hotels in the area. While I generally don’t believe in spending a lot on hotel rooms, in this particular case, it proved worth the small splurge to stay in this remarkable setting.
A sailboat cruises past the village of Riomaggiore along the Cinque Terre coast...
For more photographs of Liguria, go to the next page...
Despite all its beauty, the wines produced by Cinque Terre vineyards do not have a great reputation. Almost all wines are made from Vermentino, Bosco or Albarola grapes, that produce mostly simple dry, white wines. Despite what critics opine, I had a half-bottle of local Cinque Terre Vermentino at the end of my long hike and it tasted great. Very floral, not as tart as a Sauvignon Blanc, but with lots of citrus aromatics and a touch of saltiness. Perhaps the moment influenced my opinion, but I found the wine quite refreshing.
Each of the towns has its own distinct character, and each would prove worth an overnight stay given enough time and money. Vernazza and Monterosso have beaches, and Corniglia, known as the “wine town”, is most notable for the wines produced on its steep hillsides. Manarola and Riomaggiore have interesting swimming opportunities from the rocky shorelines, and both villages soar up the steep hillsides from their respective harbors at seemingly impossible angles. The walk between these two most southern towns proves very easy and is known as the “Via Amore”, or walk of love. The path resembles a sidewalk, runs almost flat, and takes about 20 minutes to walk.
For all its natural and man-made beauty, the Cinque Terre remains the highlight of Liguria. It consists of five small towns, villages really, that begins in the north at Monterosso, and runs south for just over seven miles to Rigmaggiore. Visitors may explore the region by car, train, boat or, for those in good shape, by hiking to all five towns. I chose a combination of hiking and boat.
I began my Cinque Terre adventure by taking the train from Santa Margherita to Monterosso, finding a bed and breakfast for the upcoming night, and then beginning to hike the trail southward. The first leg of this journey, from Monterosso to the next town of Vernazza, has the reputation of being the most arduous.
Right out of Monterosso the hiker immediately faces a steep uphill climb. Some of the walk is via a footpath, and some by steps. After about 20 minutes of climbing, I began to count the seemingly endless series of steps, and counted 775 by the time I arrived in Vernazza. The earthing steps are not “normal” steps, as many are irregular and some stand about a foot high. Many people (mostly older couples and young American girls) were sitting by the side of the trail, breathless and apparently unable to continue. In all fairness, I began the walk at about noon in early September, and the temperature was close to 90 degrees. Cool by Vegas standards, but still...Guides recommend the walking time between Monterosso and Vernazza at an hour and a half, and I made it in one hour. By the time I reached Vernazza I was ready for a cold beer. And yes, I know it’s a website about wine...!!!
Besides burning a lot of calories, the walk provides some absolutely superlative views. The plunging cliffs and the views leaving Monterosso, the occasional vineyard, and the sight of Vernazza getting closer as you hike around the bends of the trail, keep your adrenalin flowing. After lunch in Vernazza, I opted to take a boat to the most southern Cinque Terre town of Riomaggiore, and then hike back north through Manarola to the train station at the middle town of Corniglia, and from there caught the train back to Monterosso.
