Salice Salentino is a small rural town in Salento that has been home to the ancient Leone de Castris winery for more than three centuries.
It is the year 1665. Amidst the fertile vineyards of that time, Oronzo Arcangelo Maria Francesco of the Counts of Lemos gave birth to the winery.
The founder became fond of such a fertile and rich land and realised its value, so after the first few years of processing and transforming the product, he returned to Spain, sold some possessions, came back and invested the proceeds in Salento lands.
Around Salice, Guagnano, Veglie, Villa Baldassarri, Novoli and San Pancrazio, he became the owner of several thousand hectares, on which he not only planted new vines, but also olive trees and wheat. In the early 19th century, the winery began exporting raw wine to the United States, Germany and France.
The winery began bottling its products with Piero and Lisetta Leone de Castris in 1925. 1943 saw the birth of Five Roses, the company's best known product and the first rosé wine to be bottled and marketed in Italy and immediately exported to the United States.
The history of this wine is still remembered by the winery as one of the most significant events in its centuries-long journey. In fact, there is a district in the Salice Salentino feud called 'Cinque Rose', a name due to the fact that for generations the Leone de Castris family each had, with incredible constancy, five children. Towards the end of the war, General Charles Poletti, supply commissioner for the allied forces, asked for a large supply of rosé wine, the grapes of which came from the Cinque Rose fief. But the general wanted a wine with an American name, and it did not take long to find it: thus 'Five Roses' was born.
With the 1954 harvest, Salice Leone de Castris was born and, thanks to marketing in Italy and abroad for about 20 years, the Doc Salice Salentino was obtained in the early 70s. Then,with the Doc,other companies also entered the market.
The history of this family and the winery continues. Cav. del Lavoro Salvatore Leone de Castris, Piero and Lisetta's son, contributed to a remarkable development - also at international level - of the company. His son, Dr. Piernicola, has been running it for twenty years. More and more prestigious awards are constantly being bestowed on the company's entire range.
The foreign sales network today sees products present not only in European markets, but also in the United States, Singapore, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, etc. New grape varieties have been planted on the family's holdings: Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Montepulciano, which flank the traditional varieties: Negroamaro, Malvasia nera, Verdeca, Bianco d'Alessano, Moscato, Aleatico, Primitivo, Susumaniello, Ottavianello.
The wine cellar presents a varied range of products: red, white and rosé DOC wines (Salice Salentino, Locorotondo, Copertino, Primitivo di Manduria), interesting IGT Salento and Puglia wines, rosé and white sparkling wines; an aqua-vitae and a particularly fine oil. It also has a first-class 'Villa Donna Lisa' hotel with sports facilities; it serves as a support for daily visits by Italian and foreign delegations.
The average annual production is about 2.5 million bottles.
Leone de Castris is a company that has been working for centuries in Apulia and only Apulian products. For some this might be a limitation, for us it is a peculiarity since our mission is to enhance the products of the territory where we were born and raised.
All in all, it can be said that we represent more than 350 years of winemaking history looking to the future.
€8.90
