Elban recipes are not particularly elaborate. They are simple, ancient recipes, reworked according to the products that the territory could offer. That is why you will often seem to recognize a faint smell of mint in our dishes: it is nepitella, which grows wild here, and is used to flavor dishes. Myrtle and juniper berries also enrich various meat and fish dishes, giving them a completely unexpected taste. So do capers, which even grow in the cracks of Portoferraio’s Fortezze Medicee.
Vine cultivation on the island of Elba has ancient origins: the ancient Etruscans were already engaged in it, and several Roman-era wrecks on the seabed testify to the transport of wine to the mainland. Vineyards were later expanded by the Medici and Lorraine families. Among the most illustrious admirers of Elban wine were Pliny the Elder, Ferdinand I de’ Medici, and Napoleon Napoleon, who on returning to France used to say, “the inhabitants of the island of Elba are strong and healthy because the wine of the island gives strength and health.” In recent years there has been a real resurgence in production, which is highly appreciated and recognized nationwide.
