We are a husband and wife team that lives and works in Levanto, just outside of the Cinque Terre. Individually and as a couple we have traveled the world and continue to do so with our three children. We have been in Levanto since 2011, and over these years we have acquired an unparalleled understanding of the Cinque Terre. With each passing year, we have become more and more specialized in wine, both in terms of wine tourism and in terms of winemaking. Our Utopia Vineyard project, where we have brought back to life an abandoned vineyard high in the steep hills above Levanto, is our current wine adventure. The vines were first planted in February 2022, and we’re hoping for the first useful harvest in September of 2024.
Erica Vecchione was born and raised in Parma, Italy. She has worked in the tourist industry and is a certified tour guide. In 2022 she completed the coursework and exams to become an official AIS wine sommelier. She has also been a contributing blogger/columnist for the national newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Douglas Heise is an American who has lived and worked in Italy since 2001. Doug also works as a translator from Italian to English, especially during the winters, and writes novels. He was awarded the inaugural PEN America Grant for Translation of Italian Literature in 2017, and his translation of Luigi Malerba’s Ithaca Forever was published in 2019 by the U of California Press.