Fontanafredda

Like all beautiful things, Fontanafredda is the product of a love story: the love story between the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, and Rosa Vercellana, to whom the future monarch gave the land on which the winery now stands. Rosa, known as "La Bela Rusin", was a woman of humble origins, daughter of a drum major of the army of the Royal House of Savoy. But despite society's reticence over their union, Vittorio married Rosa naming her Countess of Mirafiore and Fontanafredda, and their two children: Maria Vittoria and Emanuele Alberto, founded the winegrowing estate of Fontanafredda which would make the name of Barolo internationally famous. Fontanafredda has always pioneered new innovations in winemaking: in 1886, the first Barolo was sent overseas and, just one year later, the first concrete tanks in Europe were built in the cellars; in 1964, Barolo Vigna La Rosa was born - the first Barolo to indicate the vineyard on the label - and in 1988, the first Barolo with a municipal designation was produced, vinifying the grapes of the municipality of Serralunga d’Alba separately. In 2008, when Oscar Farinetti and Luca Baffigo bought Fontanafredda, bringing it back under Piedmontese ownership after 77 years. These new owners shifted the winery’s focus to the triumvirate of quality, sustainability and hospitality.

In 2012 Barolo La Rosa 2008 entered Wine Spectator’s Top 100 as one of the best wines in the world, in 2017, 160 years after Fontanafredda’s foundation, Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Fontanafredda “European Winery of the Year” and set the tone for the much lauded and high-scoring wines for which the winery has become famed. In accordance with tradition, the 19th century cellars house large French and Croatian oak barrels (Allier and Slavonia oak) used for ageing Barolo and the great red wines of the Langhe (Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto). White wines (Arneis, Gavi, Riesling, Chardonnay and Moscato), the sweet sparkling Martinotti method wine and Alta Langa Metodo Classico are made in more modern cellars, equipped with the latest technology. In 2020 marked the birth of a new Fontanafredda, refocusing the operations of the business and making a deep-rooted respect for the land the central focus of everything again. This rebirth, renewal and green renaissance of sustainable winemaking heralds a very exciting time in the history of Fontanafredda.

The overarching goal is to create green wine: Green inside, because it is sustainably farmed and made, and green outside too, in its packaging, because respect for the earth is central to Fontanafredda’s ethos. With 120 hectares now Certified Organic in the Village of Fontanafredda, the next project was to improve the efficiency of the winery and reduce energy use across the supply-chain. In 2022 a cooperative district heating plant powered by natural gas was completed, whilst solar panels produce more than 4000 kW of electricity every year, and a project to replace old-generation light bulbs for the company buildings has further reduced the environmental impact of the winery. activity and inside the Village there are columns for recharging cars. Being green is reflected in all the daily choices: the water is reused in a conscious way, purified with the help of the phytodepurator in the Village, collected in the lake and used for technological purposes. Packaging elements are selected to be respectful and kind to the environment, and green: Glass derives in part from recycled glass and can be reused countless times, and closures use cork and caps which are derived from recycled plastic. Labels and paper and cardboard are sourced suppliers who practice responsible forest management, and all are recyclable.