Domaine Vico

Domaine Vico was founded in 1901 in the village of Ponte-Leccia, in the northern sector of the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Surrounded by imposing mountains, it is an historic estate with vineyards in the center of the island (Centru di Corsica), in the foothills of those dramatic peaks. This is a remarkably rugged and beautiful place, with arguably the most complex terroirs found anywhere in the wine world (schist, basalt, galets roulés, gravel, clay). It is here that owner and winemaker Manu Venturi has taken his mix of native Corse varieties, grown at an altitude of 300+ meters, and turned this unique domaine into one of France’s shining beacons for biodynamic farming and transparently pure Corsican wines.

The history of the Venturi family’s connection to Domaine Vico began when Manu Venturi’s father Jean-Marc graduated from oenology school and, in his early thirties, took over the management of a cooperative on the east coast of Corsica. During the 1980’s, the Vico family had fallen into financial difficulties, eventually selling their magnificent estate to Jean-Marc in 1987. He was of few means at the time and had to borrow and work elsewhere to slowly rebuild the estate, which had an exceptional terroir, but no practical tools needed to run a successful winery. As a child, Manu was alongside his father during this journey, watching him work at the co-op during the week and working tirelessly at Vico on the weekends. As an adult Manu studied law, business, and sustainable tourism before finally coming back to take over the family estate. After 20 years investing every penny he had, Manu’s father had built an amazing domaine that could finally be passed down to Manu.

Under Manu’s leadership, the domaine has cemented itself as one of the top estates on the island. Manu sees himself as a guardian of this land and heritage, stating “My philosophy is the same everywhere; High environmental value, organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, permaculture, breeding, bee-keeping … I made these choices for the preservation of my island, my land, the men and women who live there and, more globally, the planet. I am not a utopian, nor an esoteric dogmatic, I am simply a farmer in love with the nature and every day I work on this alchemy, I try to observe it, understand it and accompany it simply to pay homage to it. This makes me and my wines better. If not better, then at least consistent with what we are and what our land expresses.”