In the northwest of the Salento peninsula, an area with ancient winemaking traditions, lies Salice Salentino, a small rural municipality that has been home to an ancient winery for over three centuries: Leone de Castris.

It is exactly here, on the very spot where today’s winery stands, that in 1665 Oronzo Arcangelo Maria Francesco, Count of Lemos, founded the company. 

The founder became enchanted with such fertile and rich land and understood its value. Thus, after the initial years of processing and transforming the product, he returned to Spain, sold some properties, came back and invested the proceeds in Salento lands. 
Around Salice, Guagnano, Veglie, Villa Baldassarri, Novoli, and San Pancrazio, he became the owner of several thousand hectares, where he not only planted new vineyards but also olive trees and wheat. In the early 1800s, the winery began exporting bulk wine to the United States, Germany, and France.

The bottling had its start in 1925 with Piero and Lisetta Leone de Castris. An extremely important year, 1943, marks the birth of Five Roses and the improvement of the bottling line that has seen our rosé being the first ever bottled in Italy and sold first of all in the United States. 

The story of this wine is still remembered today within the company as one of the most significant events in its centuries-old journey. In fact, there is a district in the fiefdom of Salice Salentino called "Cinque Rose," named because for entire generations, the Leone de Castris family had, with incredible consistency, five children each. Towards the end of the war, General Charles Poletti, commissioner for the Allied forces' supplies, requested a large supply of rosé wine, the grapes of which came from the Cinque Rose estate. However, the general wanted a wine with an American name, and it didn't take long to find one: thus, 'Five Roses' was born. 
In the 1954 harvest, Salice Leone de Castris was born, and thanks to its marketing both in Italy and abroad for about 20 years, the Salice Salentino DOC was obtained in the early 1970s. Consequently, with the DOC, other companies also entered the market.

The story of this family and the winery continues. The Cavaliere del Lavoro Salvatore Leone de Castris, son of Piero and Lisetta, has contributed significantly to the development - even on an international level - of the company. For twenty years, his son, the Cavaliere del Lavoro Piernicola Leone de Castris, has been leading it. Increasingly prestigious awards are constantly attributed to the entire range of products.

The export sales network today sees the products not only present in European markets but also in the United States, Singapore, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, etc. New vineyards have been planted in the family estates: Chardonnay, Sauvignon alongside traditional grape varieties such as negroamaro, malvasia nera, verdeca, aleatico, primitivo, susumaniello, ottavianello.

Producent	Leone de Castris
Druvor	Negroamaro
Allergener	Innehåller sulfiter

Leone de Castris Five Roses Acquavite d'Uva N.V.

Leone de Castris
Five Roses Acquavite d'Uva N.V.