Agriturismo Sapereta

About Winery and Wines

Which people throughout the history of conquests and domination of Elba Island were the first to produce wine we do not know, but already in Roman times Pliny the elder described it as “insula vini ferax” and the amphorae found in different locations along the coast are a sign of active trade. Napoleon too, on his return to Paris, before the fatal Waterloo battle, remembering his Elban kingdom, had this to say: “The inhabitants of Elba are strong and healthy because the wine of their island gives strength and health”. The grandfather of the current owners, Italo Sapere, son of farmers and miners, also farmer and miner, abandoned the traditional work in the fields and set himself up in business in 1927. He built the first cellar of the family. Italo’s son, Teolo Ario, increased and developed the wine production begun by the father to enhance the Elban wines, managing the Estate until 1980. The Sapere family first appears in the Population Register held in the Parish of Capoliveri. In 1694 “Agostino Sapere, a farmer, originally from Salerno” disembarked on the island with his family. Perhaps he was following the manpower required to build the Fortress of Portolongone.

The current production surface area totals 13 hectares of vineyard and they are listed in the Register of vineyards at the Chamber of Commerce of Livorno for the production of ELBA DOC wines. The average age of the vines varies: 10 % of the vines are over 50 years old. The rest are vines younger than fifteen years of age. The white grapes currently make up for 50 % of the total. The vines are cultivated using the low spurred cordon system with a very small number of buds per hectare. The high density of plantation, which exceeds 5,000 vines per hectare and low plant production, controlled by severe shoot pruning, and cutting bunches that appear too compact when the veraison time comes, guarantee excellent quality grapes. The farm produces the grapes and transforms the wines according to the protocol of organic farming, under the strict vigilance of one of the most accredited control bodies: ICEA.