Serego Alighieri

From Dante’s exile to the purchase of the estate

Dante Alighieri spent part of his exile in Verona. His son Pietro remained in the area and in 1353 acquired Casal dei Ronchi at Gargagnago, in the heart of Valpolicella Classica. The property already enjoyed a reputation for the quality of its vineyards and wines when Pietro bought it.

The estate became the permanent home of Dante’s direct descendants. Twenty-two generations have now lived at the Possessioni, maintaining an uninterrupted family connection that spans almost seven centuries.

The 16th-century wine estate and villa

Winemaking activity is documented from the 1500s. At the beginning of that century the residence resembled a large farmhouse. From the middle of the 16th century onward it was progressively transformed into the mansion that survives today. Wine production continued alongside the development of the house, agricultural buildings, drying loft and cellars.

The historic Molinara vine

In 1875 an ungrafted Molinara vine was planted within the estate walls. It survived the phylloxera epidemic, protected by the enclosed historic vineyard. This vine became the origin of the rare Molinara Serego Alighieri clone, one of the estate’s defining viticultural elements.

Partnership with Masi

In 1973 the Serego Alighieri house entered into a technical and commercial partnership with the Boscaini family and the Masi Technical Group. The collaboration joined the family’s historic traditions and vineyard heritage with Masi’s winemaking research, technical expertise and entrepreneurial organization.

The 1979 Vaio Armaron vintage was the first to embody Masi’s technical contribution. The 1988 vintage subsequently marked the stylistic evolution undertaken during the 1980s.

Masi’s work to recover the ancient Veronese Oseleta variety also reached the Possessioni. After the first experimental plantings made by Masi in 1985, further Oseleta vineyards were established on Masi properties and at Serego Alighieri. Oseleta returned to the Italian national ampelographic register in 2000 and was admitted to the production rules for Valpolicella and Amarone in 2003.

Corporate structure

Possessioni di Serego Alighieri S.r.l. was formed in 1992. Masi held 60% and Conte Pieralvise di Serego Alighieri 40%; the arrangement included licensing of the Serego Alighieri and Possessioni di Serego Alighieri names and the lease to the group of family-owned vineyards and buildings in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella.

In June 2012, Masi and Conte Pieralvise established Vigneti Serego Alighieri Società Agricola S.r.l., initially held 90% by Masi and 10% by the count. Masi acquired the remaining 10% in July 2013, becoming sole shareholder. In December 2014 the agricultural company was merged into Masi Agricola.

The historic residence and land nevertheless remain identified with the Conti Serego Alighieri family, while production is supported by Masi. The current group structure continues to show Masi Agricola with a 60% interest in Possessioni di Serego Alighieri S.r.l.

The estate in the 21st century

The property combines active vineyards and winemaking facilities with preserved architectural and hospitality spaces. Its ancient drying loft, historic barrel cellar and use of cherrywood casks remain central to its identity. In 2018 the estate received a Best of Wine Tourism award in the Accommodation category.

In April 2026, the 36th Masi Seminar marked more than fifty years of partnership with a masterclass devoted to Vaio Armaron and the estate’s viticultural heritage. The seminar documented the survival of the 1875 Molinara vine, the role of the 600-litre Veronese cherrywood cask and the evolution of the estate’s winemaking from the 1970s onward.

The estate preserves and propagates the Molinara Serego Alighieri clone derived from an ungrafted vine planted in 1875. The survival of this vine through phylloxera, and the continued use of its genetic material, form a central part of the estate’s approach to conserving local varieties.

Oseleta was planted at the Possessioni following Masi’s recovery programme for the ancient Veronese grape. Masi began the programme in 1985 with two experimental hectares divided among three vineyards selected for differing soils, exposures and microclimates. Further plantings followed at Masi vineyards and at Serego Alighieri. The variety’s extremely low yield had contributed to its abandonment after phylloxera; the recovery work supported its return to the national ampelographic register in 2000 and its admission to the Valpolicella and Amarone rules in 2003.

The Masi Technical Group monitors sugar and phenolic development to determine harvest timing. Its vintage reports emphasize preventive agronomic work during wet periods and the resilience of historic hillside sites, their day-to-night temperature variation, the established relationship between local soils and varieties, and traditional pergola training. In 2025 the Serego Alighieri vineyards at Gargagnago showed healthy, uniform bunches and steadily advancing sugar and phenolic ripeness before the projected early-September harvest.

No organic, biodynamic or other estate-specific farming certification is identified for the Valpolicella property.

The estate retains an ancient fruttaio for drying grapes and historic cellars for maturation. Grapes intended for its Appassimento wines rest through the winter in the drying loft. For Casal dei Ronchi, selected Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara bunches are laid on bamboo racks. In the 2022 season, the slow Appassimento of selected Valpolicella hillside grapes continued for four winter months, through early February 2023, before fermentation; the programme included Vaio Armaron.

New French-oak vats have been introduced for the fermentation of dried grapes. Maturation nevertheless preserves one of the estate’s most characteristic traditions: the use of cherrywood alongside conventional oak. Vaio Armaron is matured in traditional 600-litre Veronese cherrywood casks in the historic cellar. Cherrywood is also used for other Serego Alighieri reds, complementing the fruit profile associated with Corvina while maintaining the house style.

The property also produces Grappa di Vaio from the pomace of dried grapes used for Vaio Armaron. The pomace is distilled by direct steam through an old discontinuous distillation system.