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About us

Librandi. Four generations of passion for wine.

Family

Our history with vineyards and wine stretches back for four generations. Many things have changed over the years, but our calling as wine-makers and our close relationship with the land have kept our passion burning and have always been at the heart of our projects.

 

(From left to right: Raffaele, Paolo, Nicodemo, Teresa and Francesco Librandi.)

History

1953

Bottling begins in a small winery in Via Tirone, Cirò Marina. The Gaglioppo and Greco Bianco grapes come from small plots in the Cirò Doc region (Olivitello, San Biase, Frassa and Feudo) that will later be sold.

1955

The company purchases an estate in the Ponta area, currently called Duca Sanfelice.

1973

The Ponta-Duca Sanfelice estate is expanded thanks to the purchase of small neighbouring plots.

1975

Inauguration of the new factory located in Contrada San Gennaro, on the 106 motorway in the municipality of Cirò Marina, where the company is still based to this day.

1983

The first vintage of Duca Sanfelice Cirò Rosso Riserva is released.

1985

The land that will eventually become the company's Critone vineyards is purchased.

1988

The first vintages of Gravello, Critone and Terre Lontane are released.

1993

Research activity begins in the small experimental field located at the company's Ponta-Duca Sanfelice estate.

1997

Rosaneti estate is purchased.

1998

The first Magno Megonio vintage (the 1995) is released in magnum only.

2003

The 2001 Efeso is put on the market.

2005

Melissa Doc is released under the Asylia brand, as is the company's extra virgin olive oil.

2007

The company's first two traditional-method sparkling wines are bottled: Rosaneti and Almaneti.

2014

The Gazzetta Ufficiale (the Official Journal of the Italian Republic) announces the registration of the first recorded clones of Calabrian grape varieties in the Italian Register of Grapevine Varieties (Registro Nazionale delle Varietà di Vite) as a result of our research activities.

Territory

Eastern Calabria was once the home of a flourishing civilisation founded by migrating Greeks.

Oenotrus, an Arcadian prince who landed on our coast in the early eighth century BC, wisely governed the fate of the very first Greek colony to settle on Ionian shores. The work of Oenotrus and his people, mostly made up of expert wine-makers, was so well-appreciated by the Greeks that they named the region "Enotria Tellus”: Land of Wine.

The wines from Cremissa (the ancient name for Cirò) quickly became very popular among traders, and they were of such a high quality that they were offered as a prize to athletes who came back victorious from the Olympics, such as the great wrestler Milo of Croton. It was no coincidence, then, that Cirò was chosen as the official wine and a symbol of the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968.

The history of Cirò began in the distant past.

Since then, wine-making culture has been part of the history of this corner of Calabria.

It is no surprise, then, that the land which spreads from the Ionian Sea and the Alice Plain, gradually blending into the Cremissa region, still maintains to this day (and rightfully so) its ancient name of "land of wines".

It is here that we have been cultivating vines for four generations.
It is also here that, in the 50s, we decided to expand our activities, gradually organising ourselves to bottle, store and sell our wine.
 After all this time, our greatest wish is still to spread the knowledge of Calabria's wine-making heritage, so rich in history, tradition and unique aromas.

Territory

Tradition and research

For four generations we have been steadfast supporters of our land and of its richness. We strongly believe in what it represented in the past, what it represents today and above all what it will represent in the future for the world of wine.

We started from tradition; Gaglioppo, Greco, and the large number of native varieties present in the region. We started with head-training and with rootstocks traditionally used in the area, as well as with the teachings of our expert growers, whose skills were rooted in the centuries of Cirò’s area wine-making.

Then we turned to the leading experts in the vine-growing and wine-making industries, because we knew that meticulous research would allow us to focus on, preserve and improve our wine-making heritage. This has always been our goal and our demand to the scientific community. Far from wanting to invent or change anything, through science we merely wished to reach a deeper, ultimate understanding of the great treasure that was available to us.

We now know that our original intuition was a good one, and that some of the most beautiful pages in Calabria's wine-making history have yet to be written.

Heritage

‘A CASEDDA

In 1998, Concetta and Enza, wives of Antonio and Nicodemo Librandi, former owners of the company, thought about creating a dedicated space for talented individuals, both local and not, where they would have the opportunity to introduce themselves to a well-informed audience.
The idea became a reality with the renovation of a traditional mid-nineteenth century farmhouse which was part of the winery complex, a truly quaint place that since then has been hosting exhibitions, courses and presentations, becoming a cultural society named "A Casedda".

A great many writers, painters, photographers and artists showcased their works in the cultural centre, adding prestige to our work and company, always attracting an audience of good standing and enriching us from both a human and intellectual point of view.
We remain committed to this task with great enthusiasm, aware of the strong link that has always existed between our company and our land.