Leone de Castris

Heritage

Leone de Castris was established in 1665 by Duke Oronzo Arcangelo Maria Francesco dei Conti Leone de Castris, a Spanish nobleman of the Counts of Lemos who settled in Salice Salentino. One of Italy’s oldest family owned wineries, for centuries, generations of the Leone de Castris family have farmed the same lands, shaping the region’s viticultural identity. The estate played a pivotal role in the recognition of Salice Salentino DOC, and in 1943 made history with Five Roses, Italy’s first bottled rosé.

Philosophy

Leone de Castris’ approach is guided by a respect for place, grape and time. Vineyard management prioritises indigenous varieties (particularly Negroamaro) matched carefully to soil type, climate and exposure across Salento and central Puglia. Winemaking balances modern precision with traditional practices, aiming to express clarity of fruit, regional character and age worthiness rather than excess. Leone de Castris holds Equalitas Sustainable Wine certification, addressed through responsible land stewardship, low intervention viticulture where possible, and the preservation of long held estate vineyards as living heritage.

Key People

Leone de Castris remains family owned and family led, with Piernicola Leone de Castris representing the current generation at the helm, continuing a lineage that has guided the estate for more than three centuries. Under his direction, the winery combines inherited knowledge of its historic vineyards with a forward-looking approach to quality and precision. The wines’ technical and stylistic development is supported by Riccardo Cotarella, Italy’s most renowned consulting oenologist and President of Assoenologi. Together with an experienced in-house technical team, this structure ensures continuity of identity while allowing the wines to evolve with changing vintages, terroirs and modern viticultural practices.

Beyond the Vine

Leone de Castris operates one of the very few on-site wine museums in southern Italy, the Piero e Salvatore Leone de Castris Wine Museum. The public museum preserves centuries of family and regional wine history, including original tools, archival documents, and some of the earliest bottled wines produced by the estate, offering rare insight into the evolution of viticulture in Salento. Alongside this cultural focus, the winery is also known for its early and continued commitment to indigenous Apulian varieties—such as Susumaniello, Ottavianello and Aleatico—grapes once at risk of disappearing and now cultivated across dedicated estate vineyards.