Cooperativa Sociale Il Gabbiano

In the rugged and inaccessible Valtellina region, mountain agriculture is difficult, hard and tiring, and is carried out entirely by hand on terraces that are supported by dry stone walls. It was here, on this strip of land in the upper Lombardy region, that in 1983 a non-profit social farming project, the Cooperativa Il Gabbiano, was established. The aim of the company was to promote cooperative work in order to enhance the area, recover neglected areas and create a new social network by welcoming, helping and rehabilitating people with social difficulties.

The Cooperativa Sociale Il Gabbiano is a young company that is based on three main themes: "recovery, sustainability and ecology". These are issues that, as the cooperative points out, are encountered in all forms and in many environments, including politics. However, here they truly come into play, as behind the cultivation of products such as apples, vines, wheat and vegetables on abandoned terraces, stands the tenacity of those who believe in the potential to create new life. It is exactly this dualism, with the idea of sharing, hope and solidarity created by work, that the word "renewal" draws its greatest inspiration and becomes the driving force behind the production of unquestionably high quality wines.

From the renovated vineyards, the first wines were produced in 2015, partly thanks to the help of the area's important and symbolic winery, Nino Negri, who supported the project from the very beginning. There are six wines, mainly produced in the Inferno and Sassella subzones, which are divided into two lines: "Tre Inferni" (Abbaglio, Sentenza and Stigma) and "In Riga" (from the fusion of the names INcontro, RIparo and leGAmi). The names of the wines are based on the journey that brings people closer to the tragic world of drugs. First, "l'Abbaglio ('the glare'), which is the initial illusory sensation of well-being, then "La Sentenza ('the sentence'), which is the consequence of using drugs, and finally "Lo Stigma ('the stigma'), which is the mark that identifies drug users. The other three, "Riparo" ('shelter'), "Incontro" ('meeting') and "Legami" ('connections') are related to the restorative justice in which Il Gabbiano strongly believes. Instead of the classic punishment, this type of justice brings perpetrators and victims together, forging links and relationships and, where possible, encouraging the perpetrator to repair the damage created. These are red wines that represent revenge and express the hope and determination of those who work hard every day to rebuild a new life project.