History – Abrigo Fratelli

OUR HISTORY

Since 1935- A family business

The history of the Abrigo family starts in 1935, the year in which Ernesto Abrigo (grandfather of the current owner) arrived from Treiso and settled in Diano d’Alba in the Berfi hamlet, the current headquarters of the winery. The reality of the Langhe at that time was poor; people lived on viticulture but also on wheat fields and livestock farming. After the war it was realized that all the soils of the Langa were suited for the production of great wines. Thus came the 1970s, when Ernesto attended the Alba School of Enology, graduating in 1976. Putting his studies to good use, in the following years he started the production of his first bottles under the brand name “Abrigo Fratelli.” The family focused on a popular grape variety much loved by the Piedmontese: Dolcetto, which gives surprising results on the hills of Diano. Over the years production expanded, and Dolcetto was joined by Barbera, Chardonnay, Nebbiolo, Arneis and Favorita.

With the advent of the new millennium, a long period of experimentation aimed at producing the first Alta Langa DOCG Metodo Classico began. 2013 was an important vintage for the Company, because, in addition to it, the best-known Piedmontese wine was vinified for the first time: Barolo DOCG, harvested in the Ravera cru. Today the winery is continuously expanding and annual production is about 50,000 bottles. The management remains family-run to this day: Ernesto is joined by his son Walter and brother-in-law Emanuele Antona. In recent years, the winery has seen a profound renewal necessary to unite tradition with the innovation of modern times, with new winemaking techniques flanked by more appealing packaging: the Albeisa bottle, which completes the idea of typicality, and the new brand, which best sums up this change. The winery is proposing some novelties in 2024: whole cluster experimentation on the 2023 Diano d’Alba DOCG and the release of the Alta Langa DOCG Sivà 60-month Riserva version. The winery also faces many investments in sustainability such as the SQNPI sustainable viticulture certification from 2023 combined with the installation of a photovoltaic system on the winery.

TODAY