Once upon a time there were four brothers: Leone, Giovanni Battista, Costantino and Giuseppe, who towards the end of the 19th-century moved from Costigliole d’Asti to Neive, in the heart of the Langhe area, to work as sharecroppers (tenant farmers who give a share of the crops raised to the landlord in lieu of rent). The same roots, but each a different destiny: Leone was killed in a hunting accident, while Giovanni Battista, after studying at theological college, went on to become the Parish Priest of Caramagna.
Costantino enrolled in the national gendarmerie of Italy, the Arma dei Carabinieri, leaving his mark in the world thanks to his son Dante, going down in history as the inventor of the Fiat Cinquecento. Finally, Giuseppe, made the dream that had always been in his heart come true: to own a wine cellar producing wine from the hills where he was born. It was on a day in June in 1895 when he heard there was a winecellar for sale in Borgonuovo di Neive, for the sum of three thousand Italian Lira: an amount he surely would never be able to afford.
That same night he had a dream and the next day he played the numbers he saw in his dream on the National Lottery: Fortune smiled upon Giuseppe and, with his winnings, he bought that very winecellar. Giuseppe’s son Leone took over the business, who fulfilled the ambitious idea of the head of the family, and under his guidance the broking firm, specialised, in selling grapes, became to all intents and purposes a commercial and winemaking firm, producing its very own wine.
After forty years of hard work, through two world wars, Leone’s sons, Valerio and Renzo took over the business: work in the cellar improved even more and the sale of wine increased from casks to demijohns, arriving finally at being sold in bottles. In the 1990’s, Valerio’s son Maurizio and Renzo’s son Paolo took over the helm of the business and set their sights on increasing the vineyards owned in areas where the noblest wines of the Langhe region are produced. A fine family tradition, therefore, continued by Maurizio’s sons Alessandro and Mauro, and Paolo’s children Lorenzo and Anna.
Be sure not to miss the cru designation pages on the winery’s website!
