Castello Di Neive

Although wine had been produced in the confines of Castello di Neive since the mid 1700’s, the modern history of the estate began in 1964 when Giacomo Stupino purchased the castle along with more land and farmsteads in Santo Stefano and Marcorino. This marked a turning point for both the property and the family as the Stupinos were able to renovate the cellars and reorganize their vineyards to produce wine according to modern methods. Prior to that, the family patriarch had capitalized on his experience as a surveyor and his knowledge of the area to purchase favorable vineyards and land whenever possible and wine production took place in the small cellars of their family home. When Giacomo died in 1970, ownership transferred to his sons, Giulio and Italo. They oversaw the transition from tenant farming to direct management of the land, initiating production and export of Castello di Neive wines abroad. Today, Castello di Neive is owned by the entire Stupino family, siblings Anna, Giulio, Italo, and Piera.

The estate covers 150 acres, all in the Neive town council, in the Langhe area of the Piedmont region The cellars of the castle are extremely large, clearly demonstrating the designers’ optimism that the winery’s quality would be easily recognized.. Sixty-two acres are devoted to grape growing and the entire production, 12,000 cases a year, is obtained from Castello di Neive’s own vines in the following vineyards: Basarin, Cortini, Gallina, Marcorino, Messoirano-Montebertotto, Santo Stefano and Valtorta.

Tradition, research, and creativity make up the philosophy of the Castello di Neive winery. Recently released photographs from the winery’s library show that, as early as 1904, Pinot Nero was being bottled at the castle, and that by 1925 Nebbiolo was recognized as a fine wine grape with varietal labeling. Now, roughly one century later, the Stupino family continues the tradition of cultivating and vinifying these noble varieties as well as the often overlooked Barbera and Dolcetto and the local favorite, Grignolino. The Stupinos’ winemaking philosophy is to respect a centuries-old heritage of winemaking while embracing new technologies and research activities—both in the vineyard and in the cellars.