On my last trip to Sicily I spent a day at the Centopassi vineyards with Francesco Galante. It wasn’t my first visit. In fact Francesco remarked “I think you’re the only person outside of Centopassi who has witnessed every step of our growth and changes first hand in the Portella della Ginestra Vineyard .” 
Centopassi is the Sicilian winemaking arm of Libera Terra (free land) started in 2002. It occupies 93 hectacres of vineyards confiscated from the Cosa Nostra located on the periphery of Palermo and Corleone. Why the name Centopassi? I Cento Passi – One Hundred Steps – is a film dedicated to Giuseppe “Peppino” Impastato, a young Sicilian radio broadcaster and anti-mafia labor organizer, who was assassinated for his fight against the mafia. Like Peppino, Centopassi is a leader; planting, nurturing and building vineyards giving back to the land and people of Sicily by not only contracting dozens of full time workers but also by producing high quality organic wine.
The vineyards are an admirable example of how to make positive use of confiscated land. Are you interested in learning more about Centopassi? Continue reading…