The history of “Torraccia del Piantavigna” began in 1977 when Pierino Piantavigna, maternal great grandfather of the current generation of the Francoli family, planted his first vineyard of Nebbiolo in the hills above Ghemme, near the former Cavenago Castle. The name of the company, founded 13 years later, was inspired by Pierino’s passion for the vineyards, which were such an important part of his life, and by the name of the hillside where he worked, known as “la Torraccia”, in reference to the derelict tower of the castle there.

It was Alessandro Francoli, president of the Luigi Francoli distillery, who founded the company in 1997. A company now known in Italy and worldwide for the quality of its innovative wines which, at the same time, reflect the local character and traditions.

Torraccia del Piantavigna is situated in Alto Piemonte in the foothills of Monte Rosa, perhaps the most emblematic of all Italian mountains. The company owns nearly 100 acres of hand-tended vineyards growing almost exclusively three local grape varieties, Nebbiolo and Vespolina for reds and Autochthonous single grape variety as specified for our DOC wines for whites. The wines are all vinified and aged in our cellars and bottled on our own production line. The winery makes exclusively quality wines, mainly reds but with some white and rosé, including our illustrious Ghemme and Gattinara D.O.C.G. wines, whose constant outstanding quality is testified by the dozens of prestigious awards received for these wines. In particular, the ‘Tre Bicchieri’ has been awarded to one of our wines for each of the last ten years by Gambero Rosso, the bible of Italian wine.