I’m making a special post to highlight two of the best experiences we had in the Cinque Terre. First off, all credit goes to Ruth, our host, for her guidance and local knowledge.
Since the weather was unpredictable, we decided to do a formal wine tasting with a local sommelier, Yvonne Riccobaldi.
She has a wine shop, cooking school and tasting room in the village of Manarola called A pie de Campu. Ruth joined us for the tasting, and did all of the translation for us, but Yvonne does speak English, she just preferred to tell her story in Italian.
Yvonne’s family has lived in Manarola for generations, and the family business has always been wine. Our tasting started out with a fascinating history lesson that explained the importance of wine in the creation of the Cinque Terre. People moved to the area from further inland during the 11th century, with the residents all living on the top of the hills to avoid pirates. This is when they started creating all of the terraces on the steep hillsides to plant wine, and the quality of the wine quickly became known in nearby Genoa, 2 days away by sailing ship.
In 1276, all 5 villages of the Cinque Terre came under the rule of the Republic of Genoa. Being under the protection of the Republic, the residents started their move from the tops of the hills down to the water, and the Cinque Terre villages were born.
Italy was unified in 1870, and a railway was built from Rome to Genoa, and this railway went right through the coastal hills and connected the Cinque Terre with the outside world for the first time. Yvonne explained that with the railway in place, many of the younger residents opted to take jobs in other cities a short train ride away, rather than the ardourous and poorly paying work of running a vineyard and winery. All of the local families were very poor, so if one or two members of the family could make some money elsewhere it was better for the entire family. Only recently has there been a push to revive the wine industry with a younger generation of workers.
The best story Yvonne told was about how the wine business is a family affair, with everybody getting up at 5:00 AM and heading to work in the vineyard. Children that were too young to work were tied to their bed so they couldn’t get into trouble while the rest of the family was working. If only we could get away with that today!
We tasted four wines and she explained the nuances of each wine and the different techniques the winemakers used. It was really an excellent, informative tasting, so if you plan to visit make sure you contact Yvonne in advance and book this tasting. You can find her contact page here.
We had lunch at a pretty good restaurant in Manarola called Dal Billy, and I just have to post the front of their menu.
Our favorite restaurant in the Cinque Terre was Belforte, right in Vernazza, where we had dinner our first night and liked it so much we booked it for our last night. We ended up with the same table, and Andrea, the waiter of many hats!
The food was just as good the second night. Make sure you book this well in advance, and demand Andrea as your waiter. Another beautiful sunset from the terrace.
There was a couple from Dallas on their honeymoon, David and Christina Denton, who were sitting right behind us. Here is the photo I promised you!
Andrea taking a selfie. This guy really loves his job!
