Today we celebrate the 165 years since our foundation: an important milestone, which is right to celebrate at best retracing the history of our wines, but especially the history of the men and women who are part of it
Our history, our wines: with confidence in the present, we look to the future with courage
Our history began in 1858, from the love story between Vittorio Emanuele II and Bella Rosina. An important story, which we need to understand the future road we have to take and to set ourselves new goals every day. Today we want to look back, to look beyond the 165 years of history we’ve lived, understanding exactly where we want to go.
Our wine expresses who we are: it brings the principles and values we believe in
Let’s start with trust, a feeling at the basis of human relationships, without which we would not have established a relationship with more than 300 suppliers, who have been delivering the fruit of their work to Fontanafredda for generations.
A work that in 2021, in conjunction with the drafting of the First Sustainability Report, found a voice in the Equalitas certification, which classifies Fontanafredda as sustainable not only from an economic and environmental point of view, but also from a social point of view.
Always a community
Thanks to the collective contribution we express one of the most deeply rooted certainties in us: the community. A community that today we call “Villaggio Narrante”, a place where whole families have lived and worked for more than a century. A Village that in 1918 had up to 200 employees and 40 families and that in 2017 sees its official inauguration in the form of the first wine-themed Narrative Village in Italy, with 120 hectares of bio-natural reserve. A reality that still contains the original buildings of the royal family, with the iconic “stripes” and symbol of the Royal House.
A family’s story, from generation to generation
Our Savoy heritage leads us to never be “over the top” and to humbly preserve the memory of a territory and of our community. Knowledge that has intensified over the years, enhancing the knowledge of our ancestors acquired with study, experience and storytelling and which today represents our cultural background.
A baggage that in 2021 comes to life and a specific name, with the recognition of “Historical Brand” by the Ministry of Economic Development. But not only that, also in 2017 with the award to Fontanafredda of “Cantina of the year” for Wine Enthusiast. In 2021 Fontanafredda is also one of the most influential brands in the Italian wine scene by the research signed Wine Intelligence.
Great challenges faced with courage
Our narration has always favored truth, quality and respect. Values that translate into a single product, wine, the combination of earth and sky, but above all the story of men and women. Barolo wine as a universal messenger: as early as 1890, thanks to the foresight of Emanuele Alberto, we witness the first overseas importation. A witty feat for the time, which today has become one of the symbols of the cellar’s pride.
A cellar run by men and women who carry on the story of this wine every day with their commitment.
Different stories, which allow us to connect linked by reciprocity with all those who in these 165 years of history have bought it, drink it and will drink it.
Acting on real human relationships, with the desire to be bearers of new values to ensure that a world community is built based on trust in oneself and in others, as well as on respect: respect for the earth which becomes respect for people. Fruit of the sustainability path undertaken since the early years of the new millennium, in 2018 Fontanafredda celebrates the first organic harvest, a fundamental step that heralds the new Green Renaissance born in 2020.
Our goal has always been to better celebrate the character of each wine, giving it the unconditional ability to be messengers of the territory.
For us, organic is not just a model of agriculture, but a lifestyle.
Reborn to change and become new
Trust is dedicating ourselves to the most authentic part of our being, our home and the earth. It is knowing how to still marvel after more than a century and a half of changes.
If it is true that there is a need for a new renaissance, it occurs in people who seek new feelings; takes place in the more sustainable approach in this case, which in our agriculture means organic. But also in rediscoveries, in rebirths. As in 1950, when the forerunner of today’s Alta Langa was born in Fontanafredda, the first Piedmontese sparkling wine fermented in the bottle, the “Contessa Rosa”. Or in 1988, when the first Barolo of the Municipality of Serralunga d’Alba was produced, with the municipal mention on the label. A wine that more than 30 years later finds its place within the infamous ranking of the “Top 100 wines” signed by Wine Spectator.
The future still to be written together
Over the years, our wines have taken on different forms, and so have we. But we have always maintained the unmistakable style of Fontanafredda, knowing how to adapt to social changes. For us, wine is not just a simple product, but embodies a set of values and principles linked to our history, traditions and territory.
So today, 165 years later, in 2023, with the fundamental stages behind us that have led us to be proud of who we are today, we carry on the genuineness that has always accompanied and distinguished us.
A future that we like to imagine as the result of the history of men and women who founded the roots of Fontanafredda, and who continue to relive today through our values and our choices.
The sparkling wine dedicated to our 165th birthday has arrived!
It comes from 100% Pinot Noir grapes in just 4,338 bottles, disgorged after 105 months on the lees. On the occasion of our birthday, the new Alta Langa Hundred Sixty Five is coming, dedicated to the history of our winery with an original lithographed print.
