Europe's last remaining prison island, which lies off the coast of Tuscany, marked a major milestone last month 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", could easily be mistaken for a "tropical oasis" were it not for the many Jeeps labelled Polizia Penitenziaria, said Harpers.
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But prisoners who serve long sentences for serious crimes "find a new purpose" at the Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony by participating in several rehabilitation programmes, including vine husbandry and wine-making. While the reoffending rate for Italy's prison population is about 85%, it's 0% for those who participate in the wine-making programme.
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".
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".
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 and so the recidivism rate is low," said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of the company that works with the inmates. "If you leave prison with cash in your pocket you will be less inclined to commit a crime." | 
