History
1761–1908: foundation and royal recognition
Bartolomeo Borgogno founded the winery in Barolo in 1761.
On 19 December 1848, the Military Quartermaster of the House of Savoy selected Giacomo Borgogno as a supplier to the canteen of the Savoy Army College. This is the winery’s earliest surviving commercial document.
Borgogno Barolo was served at the celebratory lunch for the Unification of Italy in 1861. In 1908 it was served at the banquet held for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia during his official visit to Racconigi Castle.
1920–1968: Cesare Borgogno and the historic cellar
Cesare Borgogno assumed management in 1920. He expanded exports to Argentina, Europe and the United States and introduced the practice of retaining half of the Barolo Riserva production in the cellar and releasing it only after approximately twenty years.
On 17 July 1944, Wehrmacht soldiers removed 240 cases of 1935 Barolo during a raid in Barolo.
In 1955 the French Institut des Appellations d’Origines brought legal action against Borgogno, alleging that the name imitated Burgundy.
The company adopted the name Giacomo Borgogno & Figli in 1967. Cesare died in 1968, and management passed to his granddaughter Ida and her future husband Franco Boschis, followed by their sons Cesare and Giorgio.
1972–2008: auctions and continuity
In 1972, a bottle sold for 589,000 lire at a Borgogno charity auction, a record figure for the period.
2008–2025: restoration, organic farming and new territories
The Farinetti family acquired the winery in 2008 with the declared intention of preserving its classic and traditional identity.
The historic building was restored in 2009. In 2013 the winery returned to concrete as the exclusive material for fermentation tanks.
Organic conversion began in 2015. The same year Borgogno began working in the Tortona hills with three hectares of Timorasso.
In 2016 the historic cellars were renovated and old concrete tanks and production areas were restored. The estate also added 15 hectares at Madonna di Como to the existing 20 hectares.
The winery began a deeper study of territory and new winemaking approaches in 2017.
The first certified-organic wines were produced from the 2019 harvest. In the same year the estate added 2.5 hectares of Nebbiolo in the Annunziata MGA in La Morra.
Four hectares at Valbona in the Colli Tortonesi were added in 2020. Casa Borgogno opened in 2021.
Derthona Scaldapulce, from the 2019 harvest, was released in 2022. The same year Barolo Liste and Cannubi Riserva returned to international distribution through La Place de Bordeaux.
In 2023 the estate added ten hectares at Castino in Alta Langa for high-altitude Nebbiolo as a response to climate change.
Borgogno obtained Equalitas certification in 2024. Barolo Annunziata Riserva became available in 2025.
Terroir
The estate comprises 60 hectares in total: 52 hectares of vineyards and 8 hectares of woodland.
Its vineyard holdings extend across Barolo and the Langhe, Madonna di Como near Alba, La Morra, the Colli Tortonesi and Castino in Alta Langa.
Liste originated approximately 13 million years ago through erosion of overlying terrain. Borgogno owns about 6.75 hectares with southern exposure at 270–330 m. The site combines macro- and micro-elements associated by the winery with complexity, austerity, vertical structure and longevity.
Cannubi and Cannubi San Lorenzo originated approximately 11 million years ago from sediments of the Padano sea. The soils are complex clay-limestone marls. Borgogno’s holdings total about 1.30 hectares at 290–320 m with southern exposure.
Fossati is approximately 9–10 million years old and is described as the youngest Borgogno vineyard. The estate owns about 3.20 hectares at 290–350 m with south-eastern exposure and a greater proportion of sand.
San Pietro delle Viole is identified with particularly fragrant, soft and elegant wines.
Madonna di Como and Annunziata extend the estate’s Nebbiolo holdings beyond the historic Barolo crus. Scaldapulce and Valbona are Timorasso sites in the Colli Tortonesi. Castino is a high-altitude Alta Langa project intended to address climate change.
Winemaking
Borgogno completed conversion to certified-organic production with the 2019 harvest.
The winery states that it uses no chemical fertilisers and no herbicides and relies only on environmentally compatible treatments. Its public philosophy emphasizes reducing chemicals, protecting vineyards and woodland, and preserving finite resources for future generations.
Equalitas certification was obtained in 2024 and covers environmental, social, ethical and economic sustainability.
The 2023 acquisition at Castino is explicitly linked to climate adaptation through high-altitude Nebbiolo planting.
Borgogno’s wines follow a deliberately traditional production model.
Fermentations are long and spontaneous, carried out in concrete tanks without selected yeasts. Since 2013 concrete has again been the exclusive material for fermentation.
Barolo receives long macerations, including submerged-cap techniques where stated on individual wine pages, and matures strictly in large Slavonian-oak barrels.
The winery maintains an historic bottle library. The practice established by Cesare Borgogno of withholding part of the finest Riserva production for decades remains central to the estate’s identity. Historic wines are made available only in limited allocations.
Current annual production is stated as 225,000 bottles.
Philosophy
Borgogno defines its approach as simplicity governed by a small number of clear rules: more nature and fewer chemicals in the vineyard, spontaneous fermentation in concrete, large Slavonian oak and patience in the cellar.
The winery uses the idea of parsimony to describe conscious, moderate and durable use of what it owns. Vineyard land and the historical bottle library are treated as finite resources containing accumulated knowledge and therefore requiring protection.
After the 2008 acquisition, the stated philosophy was not to change the winery’s identity but to remain classic and traditional while continuing to study territory, climate and sustainability.