Tuscany's idyllic island prison with a waiting list

Europe's last remaining prison island, off the coast of Tuscany, marked a major milestone in June with the launch of its 12th vintage of Gorgona bianco, a yield of 9,000 bottles.

Gorgona, a "small, serene island, with pastel-coloured houses", can easily be mistaken for a "tropical oasis", were it not for the many Jeeps labelled Polizia Penitenziaria, said Harpers. 

But prisoners who serve long sentences for serious crimes "find a new purpose" at the Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony by partaking in several rehabilitation programmes, including vine husbandry and wine-making. While the reoffending rate for Italy's prison population is around 85%, it's 0% for those who participate in the wine-making programme.

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An island paradise 

Although it was once a monastic site, Gorgona island – with its "intricate mountain topography" not unlike the fictional Isla Nublar from "Jurassic Park" – became an agricultural penal colony in 1869, said Tom Mullen in Forbes. "Circled by rocky coastal cliffs" and "coated by extensive pine forests", it boasts "natural beauty and ample greenery" and is home to wild rabbits and peregrine falcons.

The 90 or so inmates who successfully apply to serve their sentences on Gorgona live in concrete buildings where they "cook their own food" and "tend their own garden for fresh vegetables". Many also roam the island to carry out specific tasks, Mullen added.

They mostly work outdoors, "ranching and farming and learning a trade that will help them reintegrate", said Francesco Bertolucci in The Boston Globe. Nearly all labour on the island is done by the inmates, including "sorting trash and recycling".

Although Gorgona is relaxed, it has a "zero-tolerance policy about what is and is not acceptable behaviour". Inmates follow a "no-nonsense Ten Commandments", including a ban on drug possession or testing positive for drugs. Any inmate violating the rules "ends his stay here and is sent to another prison".

Reducing reoffending

Gorgona has had a winery for centuries, "but the wines were terrible and the vineyards were in bad shape", said Society of Wine Educators board member Wanda Mann in Food & Wine. So, in 2012, the warden contacted more than 200 Italian wineries to develop a wine-making programme on the island. And only one – Frescobaldi – replied.  

Approximately 15 inmates work "tending vines and producing wine" at any time, with these individuals rotated based on prison officials' decisions "to reduce envy", said Mullen. The two wines they produce are Gorgona bianco and Gorgona rosso, with the former retailing for approximately £77 ($100) a bottle.

"They gain a work portfolio – so it's a project that gives a second opportunity," said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of the company. Crucially, they are also paid at the same rate as professionals performing the same tasks on the mainland. "When they leave the island, they have a good amount of money to buy a car, pay rent. So, the recidivism rate is low," said Frescobaldi. "If you leave prison with cash in your pocket you will be less inclined to commit crime."