Venissa: where Venice wine comes from

On the Island of Mazzorbo Venissa reinterprets the Venice Lagoon in a modern way

What we like about Venissa and the island of Mazzorbo is the fact that there you can live surrounded by nature and the lagoon yet without losing the connection with Venice. We have lived the Mazzorbo experience thanks to the Bisol family, which has created the conditions for a re-launch of the island and the wine production in the lagoon.

The priceless thing is to be in a timeless place, to wake up with the birds’ twitting, to walk in the moonlight in the absolute quiet of the village where everyone knows each other, to watch the ladies who do the bobbin lace outside their houses, to live the experience of rowing or fishing with Burano’s fishermen, and then to observe them while they repair the nets at sunset

In the past the lagoon was indeed a place of wine production, both in the islands such as Sant’Erasmo, Torcello and the Monastery of San Michele, and in the historic centre by the convent of the Discalced Carmelite Friars and San Francesco della Vigna.

Producers of prosecco, in 2002 the Bisol discovered that in the island there were still some plants of Dorona, the historic golden grape of Venice, and decided to harvest this crop again through the replanting of the ancient vineyard in an area of almost one hectare .

In 2007 the wine and the estate Venissa were born.

The island of Mazzorbo played a very important role in the history of Venice. This rectangular strip of land near Burano began to be populated in the seventh century and, over time it became an important centre of what is now called the Venice Native, which is the Venice before Venice. From the year 1000 Mazzorbo began to decline in favour of the nearby Venice: since then the island has been used for agricultural activities thanks to a productive vocation that is still very well rooted in the territory and in the approximately 300 inhabitants that live there.

The Bisol produce wines of great quality and in a limited number. For the winemaking process they collaborated with Roberto Cipresso, one of the most important winemakers in the world.  Venissa wine was indeed born from this cooperation, a wine that today is particularly appreciated by the experts: La Dorona of Venice has entered the book Wine Grapes, a reference book for the autochthonous varieties; while Decanter, one of the most important wine magazines in the world, has dedicated to Venissa two entire pages.

The link with Venice is also visible in the bottles, created in collaboration with two important Venetian artisans: in the design of Giovanni Moretti, the label is characterized by a gold leaf handmade by the Berta Battiloro family. In Murano the gold leaf is melted into the glass and each bottle is numbered through an engraving.

The best way to enjoy this wine is in the Michelin Starred restaurant, recognized as one of the greatest expressions of the Venetian cuisine and where four different chefs alternate during the year to renew the culinary offer. On the one hand the gardens and the vineyard, on the other the kitchen where the traditional “farm-to-table” raw materials meet and get transformed.

The “castraure“, the delicious violet artichokes of Sant’Erasmo, an agricultural product included among the Slow Food presidia and among the traditional Italian agric-food products and the fish of Burano’s fishermen are also protagonists of the menus of the modern Osteria, a space where you can relax enjoying a glass of wine and looking at the lagoon.

Finally, for the overnight stay, the Wine Resort offers the guests the opportunity to stay inside the walled vineyard and enjoy the tranquillity of a place outside the traditional touristic routes, while the widespread residences of Burano and the buildings renovated by the Bisol family including the typical coloured houses, allows the guests to dive even deeper into the life of a living and pulsating island.

The photos are by Andrea Antoni, @stailuan, Inna Shnayder, @ inna.shnayder, Dave Krugman, @ dave.krugman, and Pietro Gallina. @ pietrogg72, for Venezia da Vivere.