Cantina Cinque Terre 'Pergole Sparse' Cinque Terre DOC 2024

Winemaking

Cantina Cinque Terre is a cooperative winery that represents the collective expertise of growers working the famously steep, terraced vineyards of the Cinque Terre UNESCO World Heritage site. The winemakers here are stewards of a centuries-old tradition, focused on coaxing the best from the region's challenging terrain while respecting the delicate balance between modern technique and ancestral method.

Tasting Notes

Pergole Sparse opens with bright citrus and white stone fruit aromatics—think lemon blossom and green apple skin—layered with a subtle saline minerality that speaks immediately to its coastal provenance. On the palate, the wine is crisp and refreshing, with zesty lemon zest and green apple flavors underpinned by a distinctive briny quality that mirrors the salty sea air of the Ligurian coast. The acidity is beautifully defined, carrying the wine through to a clean, persistent finish with a lingering mineral note that lingers pleasantly on the tongue.

Producer

Cantina Cinque Terre is a producer's cooperative established to unify the small-scale growers scattered across the five villages, preserving their collective heritage while giving them access to modern winemaking facilities. The vineyards are farmed with respect to the landscape's extreme constraints—terraces carved into near-vertical cliffsides—using traditional methods adapted to sustainability, with grapes tended by hand through some of Italy's most labour-intensive viticulture.

Terroir

The Cinque Terre DOC sits on the rugged Ligurian coast of northwestern Italy, where steep terraced vineyards cling to rocky cliffs above the Mediterranean. The soils are primarily schist and slate, mineral-rich and well-draining, while the coastal climate offers cooling maritime influences that preserve acidity and brightness in the white varietals—Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino—that thrive in this demanding environment.

Food Pairings

This wine is a natural match for fresh seafood: try it with pan-seared scallops with brown butter and capers, or simply with grilled branzino and a squeeze of fresh lemon. For something more casual, it pairs beautifully with creamy burrata and heirloom tomatoes, or a light pasta with clams and white wine sauce.