The vineyard on the Island of Elba has been cultivated since ancient times, just think that the ancient Romans already exported Elba wine in amphorae throughout their empire and Aleatico was considered one of the grapes of Rome. A time not very distant, when tourism was not yet widespread in Elba, the fields and the coast were mainly cultivated with vines, which was one of the main engines of the Elban economy, together with the extraction of iron and granite. There were few strips of uncultivated land, so much so that Elba was carpeted and shaped by vineyards that were also cultivated at important altitudes thanks to the terraces. The peasants left their homes early in the morning with the moon or the first light of dawn and worked their land until sunset before returning home.

However, it was Napoleon Bonaparte who actually established the first DOC of Elba in 1809, where, to safeguard the Elban economy, he freed the island’s wines from customs duties, giving him a certificate of origin that would have equated them with French wines. thus allowing him free access to sales on the Italian coast.

During his stay in Elba, between 1814 and 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte also took care of the vineyards, favoring a strong production impulse and counting 32 million vines.

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