The Proprietà Sperino has been in the same family since its creation in the mid 1800's. First the Sperinos and then through inheritance in the early 1900's to the De Marchi's of Tuscany’s famed Isole e Olena estate who are there to this day. To both of these families with backgrounds in law and medicine, this estate in the Alpine foothills of northern Piedmont was originally a summer retreat with a castle and vineyards with vine growing being only an amateur occupation. They eventually abandoned the idea of vines and wine and it wasn't until 1999 that Paoli De Marchi returned along with son Luca and decided to pursue his dream of reviving the castle and vineyards. In short order, the Sperino property was restored to its former glory from the original, gravity operated castle cellars to 7.7 acres of vines that have never seen herbicides or chemical fertilizers. 

Farming here is sustainable with bare minimums of copper and sulfate treatments. Yields are kept very low and all vineyard work from tilling and pruning all the way through harvest is done by hand. Luca reckons that 1 hectare of land (@2.5 acres) requires about 1,000 man hours to per year to maintain at this level.