The story of the Leone de Castris winery started in 1665, when it was founded by Duke Oronzo in the small village of Salice Salentino, near the town of Lecce in Puglia. Although since the 19th century, the company largely only produced and sold wine in bulk to Germany, France and the United States, in 1925, the arrival of Piernicola and Lisetta Leone de Castris marked the start of bottling, launching the family winery into a new era which would thrive from 1943, when its very famous rosé Five Roses was created. The first rosé bottled on Italian soil, this now legendary wine was marketed and sold after WWII in the United States, where it quickly became hugely successful.
Grown on 615 acres of land spread over Salice Salentino, Campi and Guagnano, the vineyards of the Leone de Castris winery are mostly made up of local varieties, in the image of Primitivo, Negroamaro and Aleatico.Currently managed by Piernicola Leone de Castris who took the reins of the family business in the 1990s, the Leone de Castris winery now produces over 2.5 million bottles per year, many of which are regularly awarded the highest score by the Gambero Rosso guide, the guidepost in Italy.
Discover the other producers from Puglia and specially Tenute di Eméra, Taurino, Moros, Leone de Castris, Feudi di San Marzano and Gianfranco Fino.
