HISTORY

“Continuity, dedication, hard work. But above all, the awareness of working in one of the most prestigious terroirs in the world.
Ours is a centenary and uninterrupted story of Barolo in its highest and personal expression”.

Alessandro Locatelli

The Royal decree

On the 15th of May, 1841, the office of the Royal Military Command of the Province of Alba granted to Luigi Costamagna, the son of founder Francesco Antonio Costamagna, an official license “to retail the wines produced from his own vineyards in La Morra”.
It is the first document that testifies the winemaking activity of the company. It’s an important act, because it's an assessment of the quality of the wines produced in La Morra in those years and it granted Costamagna a certificate of excellence.
At that time the properties of the winery extended throughout the town and included the vineyards in Rocche dell'Annunziata as well as the historic cellars built in La Morra during the late 18th century.

The Golden medal

Francesco Costamagna won a Golden Medal at Expo 1911 held in Turin. It was a recognition of fifty years of uninterrupted production.
With Francesco passing away, his son Riccardo who was a lawyer in Turin and Alba, continued the family business with the help of his wife Maddalena.

Rocche dell'Annunziata

At the end of the ‘30s, after the death of Riccardo Costamagna, his wife Maddalena understood, with great foresight, the value of the family vineyards in La Morra, and in particular those planted in Rocche dell’Annunziata. She passed this great heritage down to her children and grandchildren who are still cultivating and vinifying these same lands today.

A New Beginning

At the end of the 1960s Maddalena’s granddaughter, Claudia Ferraresi took the fate of the winery into her hands. A painter, a woman of grand culture, and an event organizer, along with her husband Giorgio Locatelli, she took a chance on Barolo and high-quality wine-making.
Those were difficult years of endeavors and errors, hopes and dreams. The vineyards were replanted and managed in a more rational way, the historic cellars in La Morra were renovated and refit with the newest winemaking technology available.

A Cultural Commitment

Besides winemaking, Rocche Costamagna is well known for its commitment to cultural conservation.
In 1975 Claudia Ferraresi created “La Ca dj’Amis” (“The Friend’s House”), a cultural association that valorizes the local arts, micro-histories, minorities, and gastronomic culture of Piedmont, which were Claudia’s true passions. In the mid-1980’s Le tavole della cultura (the Cultural Tables) events began, where the topics of food and wine were explored through conferences, books, and essays. In 1990 I Ristoranti della Tavolozza was founded. It was a selected group of professionals in hospitality, dedicated to food and wine education.
Overtime, Claudia Ferraresi started collecting books and volumes about food and wine, and today she's put together over 3500 written works, meticulously chosen and curated over time, stored in one of the historic rooms of the winery. Since 2005 this collection has been the basis of a library, Libri da Gustare, which is open to the public. Libri da Gustare also became the name for a series of events that, since 1996, spread and promote the cultural universe of food, territory, and its protagonists.

A Terroir To Be Valued

The 1980’s mark the entrance of the present owner, Alessandro Locatelli, into the winery.
At that time Barolo wine was beginning to reveal its potential on international markets and establish itself among the most appreciated and prestigious red wines of the world. What followed was a period dedicated to the amelioration of winery practices and vineyard management.
Those were years of experiments and innovations, but, above all, of growing our experience in finding and settling the techniques that could emphasize the already incredible characteristics of La Morra terroir and the distinctive personality of Rocche dell’Annunziata.

A Welcoming Winery

Since the 1970s our winery has been open for guided tours and tastings, it makes us pioneers of welcoming guests in the winery.
Today Rocche Costamagna is an elegant and relaxing spot for engaging wine experiences.

The recent restoration of our ancient farmhouse has transformed part of our winery into a tasteful and welcoming guest house.
Inaugurated in 2006, its four guest rooms are conceived like real Art Suites and embellished with antique furnishings and paintings by Claudia Ferraresi.

Codice regione 004105-AFF-00003

Via Vittorio Emanuele, 8 - 12064 La Morra (CN) - Italy
Tel. +39 0173 509225
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