History
Le Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy, owned by the di Grésy family since 1797, began producing their own wines in 1973 following a decision by Alberto di Grésy.
The vineyards are situated in the Langhe and Monferrato areas, which are recognized as the home of Piedmont's greatest wines.
The four estates are: Martinenga in the heart of Barbaresco, Monte Aribaldo in Treiso, Cuneo province, La Serra and Monte Colombo in Cassine, Alessandria province.
Grapes from all the estate vineyards are brought to the central winery at Martinenga to be made into high quality wines with the greatest respect for tradition and nature, where the aim is to faithfully transfer as much as possible of the identity of the terroir and the varietal into the bottle.
Our company is able to produce wines to accompany the entire meal, each one the expression of the character and personality of its terrain of origin. Meticulous work in the vineyard and the cellar means our red and white wines can also be enjoyed several years after bottling.
HISTORY
There is evidence that the natural amphitheatre where Martinenga stands today was already known in ancient Roman times as Villa Martis, a place where the Liguri Stazielli met to worship Mars, the God of War.
Martinenga was also the birthplace of the Roman Emperor, Publio Elvio Pertinace (Publius Helvius Pertinax Alba, 1 August 126 - Rome, 28 March 193).
In 1797 Martinenga became the property of the noble Marchesi di Grésy family, who added it to Monte Aribaldo in Treiso, a hilltop property overlooking the valley, previously acquired in 1635 and situated a few kilometres from Martinenga, where today some of the finest Barbaresco Nebbiolo crus (Martinenga, Asili, Rabajà) are to be found. The family later increased the size of the Estates with the properties in Cassine (AL), which grandmother Giulia Pellizzari brought as her dowry.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Carlo di Grésy built Villa Giulia at Monte Aribaldo. The integrity of the original exterior and interior layout of this elegant Art Nouveau hunting lodge can still be admired today.
It was between these walls and these rows of vines that Alberto di Grésy spent his childhood and adolescence, learning to love a land rich in tradition, where no effort is spared when it comes to the hard work of the countryside, the "good and not so good" seasons. This land has given him deep ties of friendship and such a great passion for vines and wine that in 1973 he began to produce Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy's own wines, starting with the grapes that until then had been sold to others and used as a benchmark to set the market price in Alba. This radical decision would finally do justice to the precious terroir on which Martinenga is located, the only Barbaresco Cru Monopole, since only the Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy can mention "Martinenga" on their labels (as far back as 1967 it was already being included as an exclusive mention on labels selected by the local producers' cooperative).
Nowadays, in a place so rich is history, where the grape has always been king, bottles of wine are produced that take pride of place on the world's best tables.