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ISSIMO x Women in Wine: Sara and Marina D’Ambra

June 11, 2025

ISSIMO x Women in Wine: Sara and Marina D’Ambra

The fourth-generation winemakers preserving Ischia's wine heritage, one bottle at a time

For sisters Marina and Sara D'Ambra, wine isn't just a family business – it's a love letter to Ischia. As the fourth generation of the legendary D'Ambra winemaking dynasty, the duo brings fresh energy and vision to a deeply rooted tradition. From reviving historic vineyards to reimagining wine tourism with their new estate Tenuta Calitto, Marina and Sara are proving that heritage and innovation don't just coexist – they thrive. For this month’s ISSIMO x Women in Wine, we caught up with the D'Ambra sisters to talk terroir, Biancolella, and what it means to lead as women in a historically male-dominated field.

Let’s start with your story. You represent the fourth generation of winemakers in Ischia – how did you get involved in the family business, and what does carrying on the D’Ambra legacy mean to you?

My sister Sara and I joined the company at different times, although we’ve always attended events, fairs and client visits in Italy and abroad together. I studied economics in Naples and soon began working in the office, supporting the administrative side of the business. Sara, after graduating in oenology in Florence, went on to gain experience in wineries around the world – Australia, New Zealand, Georgia, the U.S., South Africa – and finally settled back in Ischia in 2021, bringing her expertise to the company.

For both of us, joining the business was more than natural. We were fully aware of the rich heritage that needed to be preserved and protected at all costs – not just out of respect for our family’s legacy, but also because it’s so deeply tied to the origins and traditions of our beloved island.

Tell us about your work and your roles within the company.

I manage the administrative side, while Sara, alongside our father, focuses on production and international client relationships. She’s also successfully dedicated herself to hospitality – organising vineyard tours, tastings, and welcoming visitors.

Right now, we’re both working on a new project: Tenuta Calitto, a beautiful 7-hectare Biancolella vineyard we acquired in 2023. At its heart is a historic late-19th-century villa, which we’ve lovingly restored to house a wine spa, complete with vinotherapy treatments, wine baths, and seven rooms immersed in the vineyard. It offers guests a full 360° experience of the wine world.

Ischia is a truly unique winemaking region. What makes the island’s terroir so special, and how does it influence the character of your wines?

Despite being a small island, Ischia is full of diverse microclimates and varied soil compositions from vineyard to vineyard. We have plots on all sides of the island, and the challenge is to respect each grape’s ripening timeline dictated by nature. That means our harvest spans from mid/late August for vineyards near sea level, all the way to mid-October for higher-elevation plots.

Our Frassitelli vineyard, at 650 metres above sea level, has a completely unique microclimate: it rains half as much as elsewhere, temperatures are consistently about five degrees lower, and the volcanic green tuff stone, elevation, day-night temperature swings, and terraced viticulture on dry-stone walls (called parracine) all give our Biancolella Tenuta Frassitelli its distinct character.

Which of your wines do you feel best tells your story – and why?

The wine that represents us most is Biancolella. It’s the most widely grown grape on the island, likely brought by the Greeks in the 8th century BC, and first vinified by our grandfather Salvatore in 1957. He was the second generation, a winemaker and researcher for the Unione Italiana Vini, and he created the first-ever bottled Biancolella.

We haven’t stopped since. In 1975, under the advice of Luigi Veronelli, our father decided to vinify Biancolella grapes from the Frassitelli vineyard as a single varietal – and so our flagship wine, Frassitelli, was born. It’s a wine that defines and tells our story.

Being women in a historically male-dominated industry comes with its own challenges. Have you faced any, and how have you found your voice in the company and in the wider wine world?

Thankfully, today many of the new generations in wine are women. So we haven’t encountered major obstacles in that sense – female winemakers and cellar masters are no longer rare.

I do still find challenges in the administrative sphere. Even now, as a woman and owner, when I sit at financial meetings, people will initially direct their questions to our male consultants, despite the introductions. Only after I demonstrate that I know the numbers and have the necessary skills do they start to take me seriously.

Tradition and innovation: a constant balancing act. How do you honour your family’s history while looking ahead to the future of D’Ambra Vini?

It’s not as easy as it might seem to run a long-standing business. My sister and I always say it’s a huge honour – and for that reason, we never considered doing anything else.

The challenge is to maintain the high standards that our father and previous generations achieved through sacrifice, study, dedication, and love. And at the same time, to bring something new and personal to the table.

What would you like people to better understand about Ischia’s wine culture? Is there a common misconception you’d like to correct?

Viticulture on small islands isn’t easy. Those who know, know. Beyond the challenges of working the land due to terrain, there is no mechanisation in Ischia’s vineyards. We also face the problem of vineyard abandonment by owners – aside from our own hectares, we work with around 120 island growers who sell us their grapes during harvest. But each year, fewer and fewer remain, as younger generations don’t continue the work.

Our challenge is to take over these plots when possible, hiring more workers and looking for passionate, qualified young people – not always easy. To encourage continuity, we gift new vine shoots to our long-standing suppliers each year and support them during labour-intensive periods like harvest. Our goal is to ensure the island doesn’t lose its identity and millennia-old winemaking tradition.

Your ideal aperitivo? Wine, location, and company please!

An aperitivo at Frassitelli, sipping our Frassitelli wine, surrounded by family, staff, and friends.

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