History
Tradition and great passion
History
Tradition and great passion
We make traditional wines, and we’re not afraid to say so. We’re proud of our identity. Every wine that knows how to inspire must also know how to tell its story, its own history
The history of the Abbona winery is full of hard work and challenges, but also loyalty to tradition and passion for experimentation. At the heart of the story are the hills of the Langhe and hard work in the vineyards, but also the territory of Dogliani and one of its most extraordinary products: Dolcetto.
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1900-1960
Papà Celso
A great story starts with a memorable beginning. That of the Abbona winery is represented by the hard, brilliant work of the first Marziano Abbona and his son Celso. Forefathers of the family and founders of the core of their business, both men were stern and traditional, but courageous and progressive.
Celso Abbona was among the first of his generation to believe in the potential of Dogliani and its territory and to valorize the grape variety that its hills are able to fully express: dolcetto.
Together with his family, vine after vine, Celso planted the legendary vineyard Bricco Doriolo, located in Santa Lucia di Dogliani. Today, this vineyard not only embodies the historical memory of the company, but it represents one of the most prestigious crus of Dogliani (a cru wine is a single-vineyard wine). The winery’s flagship wine comes from this vineyard, named the Papà Celso in honor of this great man.
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1960-1980
The second generation
Upon the death of Celso in 1964, the winery passed on to his sons, Marziano (named after his grandfather) and Enrico Abbona. These were difficult years full of hard work. The brothers transformed the family business – a traditional farm – into a winery. They began their first bottlings of Dolcetto under the name of the family and, in the footsteps of Celso, continued to invest in the territory and vines of Dogliani.
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1980-1990
The hills of the Langhe
In the beginning of the 1980s, Marziano and Enrico looked to the Langhe with renewed interest – and perhaps with a bit of a gamble. They saw a challenge. At a time when Barolo was still undiscovered, they purchased land in the hilly area of Monforte d’Alba and Novello, today known for their production of this “King of Wines.” The two brothers did not limit themselves to purchasing land; one after another, they chose the best plots in the best positions for land historically considered the most prestigious: Ravera in Novello; Bricco Barone and Rinaldi in Monforte d’Alba. The notion of crus was as yet unformed, but Marziano and Enrico already understood that these great vineyards had the potential to produce the best wines.
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1990-2000
Return to San Luigi
While the selection of their wines grew and earned important, international recognition, Mara Abbona, daughter of Marziano, entered the business in 1999. It was the same year in which Enrico Abbona sadly passed away from a serious illness. Langhe DOC Rosso I due Ricu is dedicated to him and Marziano’s uncle, also named Enrico.
Marziano Abbona continued his research and purchasing of the best land in Barolo, such as Pressenda in Monforte d’Alba and Cerviano in Novello. 1996 was the first harvest of Cinerino, a Langhe DOC Bianco made from Viognier grapes. The wine was an experiment that Marziano had coveted for years, highly desired for his love of Valle del Rodano wines. The Cinerino marks a piece of the winery’s history and is set to become one of the most unique and esteemed whites of the Langhe.
By the end of the 1990s, the time was ripe to construct a new winery in the center of the vineyards that marked the history of the Abbona family. They restructured and expanded Cascina Valle dell’Olmo in Borgata San Luigi, inaugurated in 2006. The ambitious project is a large, interred winery that minimizes environmental impact, its ancient foundations a dialogue between past and present; the winery itself accommodates all the phases of winemaking.
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2000s
The strength of tradition and the taste for innovation
The beginning of the second millennium brought several novelties: the company felt the incentive to undertake new projects and roads less traveled.
Following the spirit of challenge, intuition, and courage of papà Celso, between 2007 and 2008 they produced the Metodo Classico sparkling wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero, cultivated on the hills of Dogliani. Another wine soon joined: Langhe DOC Rosso Zerosolfiti, a blend of Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo that is produced only in the best years. Its sulfite content is less than 5 ml per liter.
In 2007, the winery celebrated 30 years from the first vintage of Papà Celso. The following year, Chiara, the youngest daughter of Marziano Abbona, entered the business, side by side of her sister Mara, who joined the company in 1999.
The work of the new generations and their use of modern technology pushed the winery to renew its communication style, utilizing social networks too. In addition to virtual communications, the winery invests its energy and resources in hospitality and visits to the winery in order to show wine lovers the work, passion, and long tradition that almost a century of Abbona family history tells through its wines.