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Marc-Antoine & Bernard VILLANOVA

Domaine Camellu

PDO Calvi Wines – Guest Cottages

Visits : April -September / 10am-8pm

Regions : Balagna

Categories : Restaurants & guest houses, farm & cottage holidays, Wine

Agricultural sectors : Corsican wines

Covering just four hectares, the Domaine Camellu is the smallest PDO-Calvi vineyard in Balagne. It may be small, but the vineyard has been in operation since 1918! It was Bernard Villanova's grandparents who first started farming these few small plots near the village of Calenzana. "My father, Jean-Baptiste, took over the business, and in 1994 I decided to restructure our vines." The apprentice wine-maker knew that the vineyards needed to enhance their performance, and felt a growing desire to carry on his family’s heritage. It was for this reason that Bernard gave into temptation and decided to devote himself entirely to the vineyard almost ten years ago.

"It may be small, but there's no shortage of work to be done! Carrying on the family savoir-faire and enriching our commercialisation efforts requires my full availability," explains Bernard, his shirt stained from his labours and with a beaming smile on his face. In 2015, the family home that has always stood on the property was transformed into a guest cottage “for those who want to get a real feel for the vineyard.” Through contact with other professionals, Bernard has come to a new appreciation of the rural heritage that surrounds him: "The Domaine Camellu may be small, but all the same the vineyards of Balagne have taught me that the wealth of this land is in my hands, and beneath my feet!” 

Cusì bellu!*

*Well said!