Leone de Castris

To the north-west of the Salento peninsula, an area of ancient winemaking tradition, is SALICE SALENTINO, a small rural municipality that has hosted an ancient winery for more than three centuries: the Leone de Castris. It is the year 1665. Among the fertile vineyards of that time, Oronzo Arcangelo Maria Francesco of the Counts of Lemos, created the first winery. Around Salice, Guagnano, Veglie, Villa Baldassarri, Novoli and San Pancrazio, he became the owner of several thousand hectares on which he not only planted new vines, but also olive trees and wheat. At the beginning of the 19th century the winery began exporting "raw wine" to the United States, Germany and France. The winery began bottling its products with Piero and Lisetta Leone de Castris in 1925. In 1943 Five Roses was born, the company's best-known product and the first rosé wine to be bottled and marketed in Italy and immediately exported in the United States. With the 1954 harvest, Salice Leone de Castris was born and thanks to marketing in Italy and abroad for about 20 years, the DOC Salice Salentino was obtained in the early 70s. Therefore, with the DOC, other companies also proposed themselves on the market. The history of this family and of the winery continues. The Cav. of Labor Salvatore Leone de Castris, son of Piero and Lisetta, contributed to the notable development - also at an international level - of the Company. His son, Piernicola, has been managing it for twenty years. Increasingly prestigious awards are constantly attributed to the entire company range. The average annual production is around 2.5 million bottles.