Jewel of the Mediterranean: Various viticulture on the island of Corsica

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Rugged landscapes, rugged cliffs and more than 20 mountain peaks above 2000 meters give Corsica a wild character. Despite the nearly three million tourists visiting Corsica each year, especially during the summer months of July and August, the 180-kilometer-long island is an insider tip for many.

Corsican viticulture is ancient and probably has its roots in Phoenician times. After the end of the Algerian war in the early 1960s, the French experienced an exodus of many immigrants back to the Mediterranean island. They planted many new grape varieties, so the entire vine area in Corsica soon grew to over 30,000 hectares.

Class rather than mass in Corsican viticulture

At 6,200 hectares, Corsica’s viticulture area is now only one-fifth of what it used to be during peak times, and roughly the same size as the combined vineyards of the cantons of Valais and Geneva. The main reason for the reduction in area lies in subsidies from the European Union in the early 1980s that supported the uprooting of the vines to prevent oversupply of wine.

In addition to many lesser-known grape varieties, three types set the mood in Corsica today: On the one hand, there’s the dark Nielluciu called Sangiovese in mainland Italy. The dark Sciaccarello is also very popular, while Vermentino is the most planted white grape variety in Corsica.

Corsican Vermentino can be wonderfully aromatic and have a subtle herbal ingredient like rosemary in addition to floral, stone and citrus notes. In order to bring the delicate fruit flavors into the bottle as additive-free as possible, wines are usually kept for a short time in stainless steel tanks and brought to market early.

Wine cooperatives firmly anchored

Since many vineyard owners were not financially valuable to squeeze their own wine, many came together in cooperatives. The biggest advantage of wine cooperatives is the shared use of skilled workers and equipment such as bottling plants.

The current distribution shows that this model works very well in Corsica: just over half of Corsica’s entire viticultural area is grown by four different wine cooperatives. There are also many small, independent wineries that you can usually visit.

Source : Blick