Lamberto Frescobaldi, president and 30th generation to head wine producer Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, vividly remembers the first time he tasted a wine produced on the island of Gorgona, which is located about 20 miles from Livorno off Italy’s Ligurian coast. Since 1869, Gorgona has been home to the Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony, an Italian prison farm.

The blend of Ansonica and Vermentino grapes may not have been elegantly made, but it demonstrated great promise. It was made at the hands of an untrained winemaker—a Muslim man named Samir who had never himself tasted the wine. He was forbidden to drink, both by the penal system and his religious beliefs.