The Cinque Terre makes interesting (and relatively unknown) wine that has its own DOC (meaning that to be Cinque Terre wine, it must be made in the area with grapes from the area).  Popular and super cheap at local restaurants, Cinque Terre’s white wine is much lighter than your standard whites.  It’s quite good, and readily available in and around the Cinque Terre, but hard to find elsewhere.

Since I love visiting wineries, I really wanted to visit a winery that produces Cinque Terre’s famous white wine, but I had a difficult time finding a vineyard that offers tours to the public.  Seriously, I looked for a good while.  Now, you can freely walk through vineyards on the Cinque Terre trails, but I wanted to visit an actual, working vineyard…

Luckily, in my research, I stumbled upon Buranco Azienda Agricola delle Cinque Terre!  What a find!  Buranco is an organic farm just behind Old Monterosso that makes Cinque Terre white wine, Cinque Terre red wine, limoncino, grappa, Sciacchetrà and olive oil!  They also have a few rooms for rent and offer tours and tastings to the public!  Definitely add this to your list if you are in the Cinque Terre and like wine!!

The Tour

We did not have reservations and just walked to the vineyard and asked for a tasting one afternoon.  The proprietor came right out and told us that we could walk around the vineyards as we pleased while she set up our tasting.  Perfect.  Wow, the vineyards were absolutely stunning!

 

Buranco has grape vines and lemon and olive trees, and we could walk wherever.  The property was particularly interesting in August, because the grapes were ready to be harvested and men were working in the fields harvesting the grapes!

 

The Tasting

After walking around for as long as we pleased, we sat down for our tasting in this lovely setting:

 

Then came the wines.  Tastings are not free, but they are well worth your money.  We did the top of the line tasting, 5 wines and snacks, for € 25 a person.  First up, a plate of snacks with homemade olive tapenade, pesto, and quiche-like treats, and a glass of Vino Buranco 5 Terre DOC Magiöa (2012):

   

Nest up, Vino Buranco Cinque Terre DOC – the Cinque Terre white (2011)!

 

Moving on, Vino Rosso Syrah (2013)!  I didn’t even know Cinque Terre produced reds!  This was very good, and we were served a huge pour!  We definitely purchased a bottle to bring home!

 

After finishing the first three wines and our savory snacks, it was time for a dessert plate – homemade pound cake with powdered sugar and fresh grapes – and Sciacchetrà, a sweet copper colored wine, and limoncino, a lemon liquor!  Actually, we had our choice of housemade limoncino or housemade grappa.  We all went limoncino.

  

   

Their schiacchetrà was even the subject of a magazine article: 

This was such a fun experience, and so relaxing.  I recommend it to anyone who loves wine.  Here is a shot of the group enjoying our wine!  The wines were super delicious and the setting was gorgeous!

How to Get There

Don’t read too much into getting there, because the internet will have you imagining this to be an hour hike uphill, barefoot.  Getting there does entail a walk up a small hill, but nothing an able-bodied adult cannot handle.  To reach Buranco, enter Old Town Monterosso and head under the bridge, then proceed toward the Church of St. John the Baptist – the black and white striped church pictured below (its free to enter  if you’re interested).

Go around the far side of the church (away from the sea) and follow the road as it bears left.  Shortly you will come to an underpass, the below hotel to your right.  Proceed through the underpass and if you look to the left, you will see a small sign stating via BURANCO.  You are on the right road!  Just proceed straight, the paved road turns to cobblestone and you walk uphill for about 5 minutes (if that!).  Buranco is right at the top!

STEAL OUR TRIP

Buranco Azienda Agricola delle Cinque Terre – Via Buranco, Monterosso al mare SP, Italy.  T: +39 0187 817677.  Mobile: +39 349.43.48.046.  Fax: +39 0187.802.084.  E-mail: info@buranco.it.  The vineyard seems to be pretty easy going.  We walked up around 3 p.m. on a Tuesday and just asked for a tour and tasting.  We were the only ones there.  It seems to be open most days starting in late afternoon.  If you want to confirm, I would call the telephone and/or mobile listed.