Much as he loved his daughters, back in the 1980s, winemaker Alessandro Lequio was hesitant to hand his family’s winemaking tradition over to women. “Just marry a good winemaker,” he would tell them. Just as stubborn as their father, however, Rosanna, Daniela and Antonella all staunchly refuted this notion, assuring him that they would one day earn his trust. In the end – and assuming they’d concede - he agreed to turn everything over if they could pass three years of rigorous enological tests, culminating in a single vintage which he, himself would judge. To everyone’s surprise, the sisters persisted. Moreover, they actually won more awards in their first year of production (1988) than Alessandro had in his entire career! Deeply impressed, and true to his word, Sandro handed the estate over to his daughters, even allowing them to initiate the “Tre Donne” brand.

While everyone in the family (yes, even the men) lend a hand with the wines, today this 15-hectare, soil-to-bottle estate continues to be run by women. Rosanna, the middle sister, manages all aspects of production (along with her husband, Piernicola, who’s often the social face of the estate); Daniela, the youngest sister, runs point in the cellar and is assisted by her two daughters, Alice and Elisa (ages 17 and 15), both of whom are studying enology in Alba; Antonella, the eldest sister, keeps everything ship-shape and oversees the company’s finances. Even Donna Bruna, their mother, is still going strong at 80 years – among other things, she still supervises the harvest!

To clarify, Tre Donne owns 15 hectares in Neive and have long-term contracts to lease a few additional hectares outside the Barbaresco zone, allowing them to also produce Barolo and Gavi di Gavi. Altitudes on their hill, Serragrilli, range from 190-300 meters, and they have a significant rotation of old vines. Their youngest Barbera vines are 30 years old, for example, and the Nebbiolo for their cru Barbaresco was planted in 1951! While non-certified, vines are cultivated organically, and the estate is officially part of Piedmont’s “Green Experience” program. (Certification requirements are similar to those for the EU’s “bio” label, and also include maintaining habitats for various birds and the protection of pollinators. For more information, you can visit this website: https://www.thegreenexperience.it.