I
t’sduskandtheVenetianlagoonshimmersall
aroundus,thelastraysofsunshineburnishing
thebelltowersandsaltmarshesandthe
occasionalcormorantdryingitswings.The
vaporettohastakenusfromthejangledcrowds
oftheGrandCanal,pasttheglassfactories
ofMuranoandoutacrossthiswidesilveryexpanse
towardstheislandofMazzorbo,hometoVenissa,the
lastandonlycommercialvineyardofdoronagrapes.
Turnsoutthatvineshavegrowninandaround
Veniceforcenturies.TheywereplantedwithVenice’s
veryowndorona,or“golden”,grapevariety,which
adaptedwelltothesaltinessofthelagoon.Inthe
year1100,recordsshowthatvineyardsweredotted
throughoutPiazzaSanMarcoandothercampi,or
fields,ofthecity.(Theghostsofthisploughedearth
remaininthetermcampothatis usedtodenote
manysquaresinVenice.)WhileSanMarco’svines
werepulledoutlongagotomakewayforpalazzi,
vineyardsintheouterislandscontinuedproducing
wineforgenerations.Allremainingvineswere
lostinthegreatfloodof1966.Orsoit seemed.
About 18 yearsago,however,GianlucaBisol,
thepresidentofoneofItaly’srenownedprosecco
wineries,discoveredsomedoronavinesgrowing
nexttothechurchofSantaMariaAssuntaonthe
islandofTorcello.Aftertrackingdownanother 88
vinesinprivategardensdottedaroundislandsin
thenorthernlagoon,theBisolfamilydecidedto
replantanabandonedwalledvineyardonMazzorbo
frompropagatedcuttings.Theirgoal:torestore
theancientwinemakingtraditionofLaSerenissima.
“Viticulturehasalwaysbeenveryimportantto
us,”explainsBisol’s32-year-oldsonMatteo,managing
directorofVenissa.“We’reItaliansowecouldnever
survivewithoutourlocalwine.”
Thiswalledvineyardhasnowbecomethecentre
ofa slow-travelprojectwhichincludesa Michelin-
starredrestaurant,a contemporaryosteria,anda
boutiquehotel,whichoffersa rangeofimmersive
experiencesfarfromVenice’stouristhordes.
Quiteapartfromitsrecentflooding,Venice
hasformanyyearsbeendrowninginover-tourism.
Whilebanningcruiseshipswouldmakethebiggest
impact,there’salsoa placeforthoughtfulsmall-scale
alternatives,suchasVenissa,whichhonourlong-
standingtraditionsandoffera palpablesenseofplace.
Asthewaterbusdropsusat theMazzorboterminal,
a senseofcalmdescendsuponus.Wepassa fisherman
andamblealonga serenecanal-sidestreetbeforearriving
at thesalmon-pinkstuccoandred-brickbuilding
thatis Venissa.Thefive-roomcountryinnanditstwo
restaurantshavebeenreimaginedbyarchitectMariano
ZanonfromthelagoonhomeofthewalledScarpa
Volowineestate,abandonedmorethan 50 yearsago.
Atitsheartis a remarkablebiodiversetwo-hectare
campo overlooked by a 15th-century bell tower. Matteoshowsusaround,pointingtotherowsof 4000 dorona
grapevinesinterspersedwith 40 localherbs.Heexplains
thattheyonlyplantedvinesonhalfofthespace,leaving
therestforanorchard,grassesandvegetableplots,
whicharetendedbylocalretirees.Redrosesperfume
theair,butalsoworkas diseaseindicators.
Conventionalwisdomsaysthatvinesdobest
withlittleaccesstowatersotheirrootsmustplunge
deepintothesoiltoseeknutrients.Yetherethey
aresurroundedbysaltywaterthatoftenfloods
theirrootsystems.Thesecret,welearn,is thatthese
vineshavelearnedhowtogrowhorizontallytofind
freshwaterwhiletheever-presentsalinityaddsits
ownformofstressanduniqueflavourprofiles.
“Wedecidedthatthebestplacetodrinksuch
anunusualwinewasrightinfrontofthevineyard,”
saysMatteoas heguidesustotheir25-seat,one-
Michelin-starredrestaurantsetina glasscubefashioned
froma formertoolshed.Thefoodis anequalmatch
tothewine,withchefChiaraPavan,namedItaly’s
bestfemalecheffor2019,at thehelm.Herinnovative
cuisinemightincludesoft-shellcrab,cuttlefish,clams,
andanarrayoflocalfishandforagedherbsofthe
lagoon,nottomentionthegarden’sexquisitetender
artichokes,stringbeans,tomatoesandonions.
“ThewholehistoryofVenicecanbefound
inthisbottle,”saysMatteo.Hereis Venetianwine
reminiscent of what was served at the Doges’ banquets.Above:Venissa’s
guestscanvisit
thenearbyisleof
Burano.Opposite,
clockwisefrom
topleft:Chefs
pickherbsin
Venissa’s
vineyards;
Venissawineon
theosteria’s
terrace;a boat
ferriesguests
fromVeniceto
dineatVenissa.
PREVIOUSPAGES
Venissaandits
walled vineyard.146 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELE MARI (VENISSA) & MATTIA MIONETTO (BURANO).