Venissa is a gourmet paradise nestled in an ancient clos surrounded by medieval walls at the foot of the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, on the island of Mazzorbo, one of the most authentic and least touristy in Venice, connected by a bridge to nearby Burano.
Venissa was founded in 2010, when the estate’s ancient manor house was renovated in pursuit of Gianluca Bisol’s visionary dream of reviving Dorona, the golden grape of the Venetian Doges and Venice’s only native grape, which he had rediscovered by chance during a visit to Torcello in 2002.
The Wine Resort includes two distinct culinary offerings: the Venissa Restaurant and the Osteria; five rooms located within the estate, perfect for an enchanting gourmet stay; and Venice’s first widespread hotel, Casa Burano, housed in the traditional colorful fishermen’s houses.
The star of the resort is Venissa, a Michelin-starred restaurant, a leading international food and wine destination for its cutting-edge haute cuisine. At the helm are chefs Francesco Brutto and Chiara Pavan, a couple in life and work, both recipients of prestigious international awards. They coordinate a team of young chefs inspired to create highly original, aesthetically pleasing dishes based on meticulous research into the finest local and traditional ingredients.
In fact, 90% of the raw materials come from the lagoon, specifically from the island of Sant’Erasmo and the Venissa garden, cultivated with the support of Burano retirees through an agreement with the local Auser. The garden includes over 22 types of wild herbs, bringing to life the true flavors of “Native Venice.” A love for the land also translates into respect for its ecosystem: everything is grown without the use of pesticides, as the salty air sprayed by the wind has a natural sterilizing effect on the crops.
At the more informal Osteria, traditional lagoon dishes are reinterpreted, paired with a wine list based on extensive research that favors “courageous” producers.
The resort’s undisputed star is the Venissa white wine, which, thanks to a unique terroir, exudes notes of saltiness and salt marsh honey, maritime artemisia, and white peach. Produced in just 3,500 bottles each year, it is one of the world’s most prized white wines, distinguished by a gold-leaf label in homage to the Dorona grape, the brainchild of Giovanni Moretti, one of Murano’s greatest glass artists.
More recently, the line of Made in Lagoon products has been enriched with the Venissa red wine, whose purple hues evoke the flavors of black berries and hints of vanilla and tobacco, and the Isole Venusa project, which offers a selection of artisanal products born from the encounter between land and lagoon. The red wine, produced with Merlot and Cabernet grapes from the island of Santa Cristina, is excellent, as is the white wine, which also comes from the precious Dorona grape, left to macerate for shorter times than the white Venissa.
Venissa’s interior design is elegant and essential, combining its heritage with design touches by leading international brands such as lights by FontanaArte, chairs by Driade, textiles by Society.
The traditional colored houses of Burano have been renovated in collaboration with local artisans and design companies such as Arclinea, Bolzan Letti, FontanaArte, Glass 1989, Itlas, Moroso, Orsoni, Panto, Trend, Vimar. The ground floor has been preciously decorated with mosaics made by the Orsoni furnace, the last one active in Venice, famous for its works at the Westminster Abbey in London or the golden Buddhas in Bangkok.
To enjoy Venissa to full, we recommend taking a vintage boat from Ca ‘Noghera, book a meal in the veranda overlooking the vineyards, and then walk to the Saint Catherin Church, which dates back to 1200 and has the oldest bell tower of the entire lagoon. Venissa can also be reached with by public transport, called “vaporetto”, from Fondamenta Nove, San Marco or Treporti.
The Secret
Viticulture played a leading role in the very early history of Venice, just think that Piazza San Marco until 1100 was a cultivated vineyard. Like the best things in life, Venissa is born “by chance”: in 2002 Gianluca Bisol saw a strange wild vineyard in Torcello. Intrigued, he started an historical and agronomic research on it, hence discovering native Dorona grape as well as the great winemaking tradition of the Venice Lagoon Islands, gone lost throughout the centuries and especially after the heavy high water disaster that the area suffered in 1966.
Casa Burano
Useful Info
Venissa Wine Resort
Fondamenta di Santa Caterina
30170 Mazzorbo, Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5272281
Restaurant
Tasting menus: starting at €165 for 7 courses + €90 with wine pairing
Water taxi transfer service by reservation from Piazzale Roma and San Zaccaria included in the 7-course menu for €235 excluding wines
Osteria
Cicchetti: from €12
First courses: €20–€25
Second courses: €30–€40
Cocktails: from €10
Rooms: from €200 with breakfast included
