The Matteo Cav. Fissore & Son Winery, founded in 1859 and located at 66, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, soon became an important and prestigious Barolo label. The winery used to buy grapes from the best vineyards in the Langhe and used to produce the classic “Piedmontese” reds, but in its list there were also Gavi, Brachetto and Vermuth together with “Barolino Chinato” and “Gran Vino Barolo”".
The winery closed down after three generations and today its building is an ordinary condominium. Also Manissero, a 19th century important grape dealer, stopped his activity in the 20’s. The original beautiful building with garden is now a private house. The great wine-making tradition in Bra was continued only by the Giacomo Ascheri Winery, the only producer now left with a list including the best Piedmontese wines. The Ascheri Family has ancient origins: a “Ascherius” is mentioned in the 1196 “Rigestum” of the Town of Alba. In the 19th century the family lived in La Morra and in 1880 Giacomo Ascheri moved to 19, Via Piumati, in Bra, where he started producing Barolo.
In 1960, the cellar were enlarged, redeveloped and moved to a nearby place.
The La Gerla property is situated at 320 metres above sea level, on the gentle slopes below Montalcino. This small wine estate has established itself as one of the great crùs in this territory in the heart of Tuscany, delineated by the Orcia and Ombrone valleys. The owner, Sergio Rossi, was formerly involved in advertising. He was the director of three European offices of a famous agency and was used to travelling for work and to losing sleep over lay-outs and jingles. These days he is almost an “ilcinese,” and he loves his vineyards as if they were children.
This gentleman, with his vivacious character, has succeeded in his goal of creating a small crù in Montalcino where the most modern technology is combined with the know-how of local men and one winemaker. At La Gerla, human intervention plays an important role is extracting excellent Tuscan products from the land. The farmhouse, with the characteristic name “Colombaia” was once the property of the Biondi Santi family. They used it to make one of the best Brunellos in the area. Sergio Rossi purchased the property in 1976 and restructured it with care and attention to detail. Not long afterwards, in 1978, he created the trademark La Gerla.
