"Farm Holidays" at "La Chiusa" Estate

PORTOFERRAIO - THE ISLAND OF ELBA

With a vineyard directly overlooking Portoferraio, "La Chiusa" estate takes its name from the wall enclosing it, along with the 20 hectares (roughly 46 acres) of surrounding property. Its origins date back to the 1700s, the period in which the wall was first built, along with the country house, wine cellar and miniature chapel. The owner's house with the double staircase outside was built later during the 1800s. "La Chiusa" hosted Napoleon Bonaparte on two separate occasions: once while waiting to be received with honours in Portoferraio after his arrival in Elba, and an other time following a hunting party expedition on Mount Fabbrello. In 1815 the plenipotentiary ministers of Saint Alliance - better known for returning the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the house of Lorena - enjoyed a stay at "La Chiusa" as well.
Over the course of 300 years, management of the Chiusa estate has been passed on to various families; first to the Senno family, who initially founded the business in 1700, destining it to the production of wines; and then later to the Foresi family who, over a 150 year span, enhanced both the quality and prestige of "La Chiusa" after acquiring it halfway through the 19th century. The last heiress of that family was Ms. Giuliana, who made the business viable through the passion and dedication of her ancestors, bringing ever greater recognition and higher quality to the name of "La Chiusa" products.
Finally, in 2003 the property saw another change as it passed from the hands of one Guiliana to another- namely to the hands of Mrs.Giuliana Bertozzi Corradi who, as a producer of animated cartoons for film and TV (along with her family), brought the "Tenuta La Chiusa" business an added value that will surely enable it to meet ever higher goals over the next few years. Under the new management, the wine cellar, main villa and apartments have all been remodelled and refurbished. Significant upgrades have also been made in wine production by enlarging the soil bed in the vineyards, increasing it from an original 8 hectares (19.77 acres) to 13.5 hectares (33.36 acres); in addition, new vineyards have been planted for Aleatico and Ansonica -- two local wines of the highest calibre; furthermore, ongoing research goes into new grapevines to place alongside common varieties. As far as the grapes are concerned, the short trim "spurred cordon" pruning method is utilised to ensure "higher quality" over the more easily
attained "higher quantity". For that reason, the grape clusters - if not grown in excess - are pruned each spring and then picked during harvest season. The species of grapevines used are those traditional to Elba: light berry varieties include Procanico - a variety of Tuscan "Trebbiano", Sauvignon Blanc and Ansonica; red berry varieties include Sangioveto - made from a tiny kind of red Tuscan grape, Merlot and Aleatico.
Then, a special touch goes into two "passitos" * ; Aleatico and Ansonica; the former comes from an aromatic, prematurely ripe grapevine whose grapes are dried on opposite racks and then lightly pressed after approximately 15 days resulting in certainly one of the most well-known and sought after wines on the island of Elba; the later is a wine of ancient eastern origin, brought to us through Sicily, the island of Giglio and the coast of Argentario; this wine can still be found today, exclusively in this resort.
La Chiusa's line of wine products, all DOC approved, include l'Elba Bianco, l'Elba Rosso, l'Elba Rosato, l'Aleatico and l'Ansonico. An other special kind of red wine available is "Grecale IGT", made from Merlot and Sangioveto grapes. In addition to that, La Chiusa produces, in small quantity, two kinds of "grappa"; monovitigno di Aleatico and Acquavite monovitigno di Sangiovese. An other product "La Chiusa" takes great pride in is its own extra virgin olive oil; with an acidity of less than 0.3 %, it recently attained the seal of the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
The kinds of olive trees that grow on the estate are typical Tuscan cultivars which include pendolino, moraiolo, leccino and frantoiano. The trees are trimmed and fertilised by hand in preparation for harvest, occurring toward the end of October. For a complete listing of "Tenuta la Chiusa" products, we encourage you to visit our products category.

If desired, we can internationally ship and deliver our products directly to your house. Additionally, you are welcome to visit "La Chiusa" and first sample our products before purchasing.
To obtain further information and place orders:
Tel. +39 0565/933046
Fax.+39 0565/940782
VISITING HOURS FOR THE PUBLIC ARE AS FOLLOWS:
High Season: Open daily (including Sundays)
Morning 8:00 A.M. - 12.30 P.M.
Afternoon 16:00 P.M. - 20:30 P.M.
Low Season: Open daily (closed Sundays)
Morning 8:00 - 12:00 P.M.
Below is a complete product list

ELBA BIANCO DOC
ELBA ROSSO DOC
ROSATO DELL'ELBA DOC
GRECALE IGT
ALEATICO PASSITO DOC
ANSONICA PASSITO DOC
GRAPPA MONOVITIGNO DI ALEATICO
ACQUAVITE MONOVITIGNO DI SANGIOVESE
OLIO EXTRAVERGINE D'OLIVA IGP
* An Italian term imported into the English wine vocabulary, "passito" is a method in which wine is made from semi-dried grapes; usually high in alcohol concentration, this kind of wine is said to be sweet in flavour due to excessive sugar content common to desiccated fruit.

lodging

Here at "La Chiusa" one can enjoy a stay in refurbished rustic residences, once the homes of peasants.
The minimum stay is one week from Saturday to Saturday. Vacancies are available from Easter through October.
For further information and reservations, please call "La Chiusa", or send an e-mail to:
agriturismolachiusa@libero.it

Guest Rooms

CASA ZEFIRO
CASA GRECALE
CASA LIBECCIO
CASA SCIROCCO
CASA MAESTRALE
CASA TRAMONTANA
CASA LEVANTE
CASA PONENTE
CASA ALISEI