Costa di Bussia – Estate Arnulfo
1874 – 2024: 150th Anniversary of Costa di Bussia
A century and a half separates us from the year in which Luigi Arnulfo purchased the historic Bertoroni farmhouse and the adjoining estate, quickly transforming it into the wine jewel of Monforte d’Alba at the end of the 19th century.
Luigi Arnulfo, born in Cherasco on May 14, 1852, was supposed to run the pharmacy of the father Carlo. However, when he was only 22, he decided to change his destiny and to become a winemaker. With unexpected firmness and determination, he started a new extraordinary business and in the late 19th century, for the first time, his Barolo wine was shipped to California.
April 3, 1873: Luigi Arnulfo received a letter from his cousin Felice Zabaldano from Monforte d’Alba with an offer he could not refuse: the purchase of Bertoroni farmhouse located in Costa di Bussia region, a land already well known for the quality of its grapes. Arnulfo, together with his father,
accepted and acquired the estate in 1874, including the farmhouse and the vineyards. Luigi moved there to manage the business personally, a very unusual choice for a landowner of that time.
24 February 1874: Luigi Arnulfo, together with his father Carlo, signed the purchase deed and founded Tenuta Arnulfo:
“Body of Cascina, called Bertoroni, composed of the plots described below, without map number: Fini di Monforte d’Alba, Costa della Bussia Region, field called land of the oxen, with part of the vineyard (…). The field called Gatto (…) the field called dell’Uvaro and Bricco planted with mulberry trees (…). And this sold for twenty thousand Lire as to Luigi Arnulfo and seven thousand Lire as to Carlo Arnulfo which were paid as follows (…).”
Two historic bottles found at the end of the 1980s right in the farmhouse are the main evidence of Luigi Arnulfo’s life and activity as wine maker. A bottle of Barolo wine vintage 1874 and a large square one-gallon bottle of Barolo wine vintage 1883, the last remaining example of the incredible shipment made by Luigi Arnulfo to his importer Carlo Rossi of San Francisco, in the United States.
The company bend over backwards: cellar, museum, tours and hospitality
Since 150 years we are located between Barolo and Monforte d’Alba, on the famous Bussia hill, surrounded by vineyards which curved this Unesco’s World Heritage landscape: the Langhe.
The winery was in fact founded in 1874 by Luigi Arnulfo, considered the pioneer of Barolo wine for his innovative ideas in the enological world and international wine market. His story is told in the Museum dedicated to him, the heart of the tour that we have created to show the estate and its 11 hectares of vineyards, the winery and the different stages of vinification and wine production.
The tasting of our wines, rigorously produced only with grapes of property, is the moment when we relive every day work and dedication, with great respect for the terroir from which everything begins.
And for those who want to discover the Langhe life-style, our Agriturismo, built in what was the Luigi Arnulfo’s apartment, it could welcome you and promise you an unforgettable stay.
