Plans have been laid for refugees to pick the grapes used for one of Italy’s most noted wines.
Sciaccheta wine, sweet and white, is produced from grapes which are grown on the rocky slopes along the Cinque Terre coastline, a World Heritage site. The wine is unique to the region.
Refugees already living in a shelter run by a Catholic charity in the local city of La Spezia will help with the harvest beginning in September. The scheme was set up by the consortium of the wine’s producers.
The Cinque Terre, firmly on the tourist agenda, consists of five villages, formerly devoted to fishing, along the coast of Liguria. Harvesting the local grapes is hard work. After being picked by hand, they must be carried down the slopes in crates.
Anti-migrant Northern League local politicians have complained that the jobs should go to Italian young people. But the consortium said it had tried in the past to recruit Italians for similar work, such as repairing dry stone walls in the vineyards. Of the six jobs on offer, only three Italians put themselves forward.
“This is tough terrain and not everyone is prepared to sacrifice themselves,” Heydi Bonanini, the consortium’s president, said.
“It would have been a lot simpler to have had Italian recruits in terms of communications, but this is the reality here in the Cinque Terre.”
Moreover, the organisers are optimistic that the project can be extended to the restoration of abandoned terraces and an increase in grape production.
