Prunotto Winery

"A century in the Langhe"

Originally founded as Cantina Sociale "Ai Vini delle Langhe" in Serralunga and taken over by Alfredo Prunotto in 1922, the Piedmontese winery has been owned by Marchesi Antinori since 1994.

It was only a question of time and opportunity that the Marchesi Antinori, who have created a veritable empire in Tuscany, would one day extend their feelers into Piedmont, Italy's second most important wine-growing region. This opportunity presented itself when the Colla brothers, who had taken over the Prunotto winery from Alfredo Prunotto in 1956, wanted to reorganise their distribution and sell the winery in the long term.

Thanks to Beppe Colla, who had introduced a modern style, the winery had a very good reputation and matched that of Antinori. The rapprochement became a partnership, with the Antinori initially distributing the wines through their network. However, they also had the funds for urgently needed investments in vineyards and cellars. When Beppe Colla and his brother retired for reasons of age, the Antinori took over the winery. During this time, the vineyards were expanded to 50 hectares, the cellar was renovated, Ginaluca Torrengo, an outstanding oenologist, was hired and Albiera Antinori, one of the marquis' three daughters, was appointed estate manager.

The winery now has a state-of-the-art cellar in Montforte d'Alba, the centre of the Langhe, and is therefore roughly equidistant from the Barbaresco and Barolo appellations, where the largest estates are located. From the very beginning, Albiera Antinori has focussed on the vineyards and highlighting the terroir, as well as researching and developing new grape varieties in the area, such as Albarossa and Syrah. The best-known vineyards are Bussia and Vigna Collonello in Barolo and Bric Turot in Barbaresco. There are also Bansella and Costamiòle in Nizza and Bricco Colma in Monferrato.