The story of La Tosa begins with two brothers born in Milan, raised between city life and deep family roots in the countryside of the Piacenza province. Their mother came from Vigolzone, while their father was from Milan, and both brothers were initially expected to follow in his footsteps and pursue a career in medicine. Life, however, had a different path in store.
Stefano’s passion for wine began to take shape at the age of seventeen. In 1978, when Italian wine culture was still in its formative years, he attended his first tasting courses with the Italian Sommelier Association. Ferruccio, on the other hand, felt a natural and immediate connection to rural life, never fully adapting to the rhythm of the city.
In 1980, Ferruccio purchased two adjacent parcels of land near a farmhouse known as La Tosa. One of the plots included the old rural building itself, which the family acquired with the idea of starting a small farming project as a shared passion. Vineyards had already been planted on these lands since the 1960s, and the family cared for them on weekends with the help of a neighboring farmer.
What began as a hobby soon became a calling. In 1984, almost overnight, Stefano and Ferruccio made the decisive choice to turn their passion into a profession and dedicate themselves entirely to winegrowing. The family moved permanently to La Tosa, Stefano enrolled at the Agricultural University of Piacenza, and work began on renovating the farmhouse and constructing a new winery.
The first wine was produced in 1985. At the time, the area was largely devoted to light and sparkling wines, but the brothers felt drawn toward a different expression. They committed themselves to exploring what they believed to be their true vocation: crafting deeper, more concentrated wines, predominantly still, while continuing to study their land and broaden their understanding of wine.
A defining moment came in 1988, when Stefano spent an entire year in Franciacorta working alongside the Zanelli family at Ca’ del Bosco. This formative experience led La Tosa to introduce, for the first time in the Piacenza province, advanced vineyard practices such as leaf thinning and targeted canopy management. In the years that followed, Stefano further refined his knowledge through extensive experience in France, visiting estates and attending courses in Bordeaux, Alsace, the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Languedoc, and Provence, as well as studying at the University of Bordeaux and the INRA in Montpellier.
Today, La Tosa encompasses nineteen hectares of vineyards surrounding the estate, spread across thirteen owned plots and six leased parcels. While all vineyards share the same terroir, each plot presents subtle differences that contribute to the complexity of the final wines. Altitudes range from approximately 150 to 300 meters above sea level.
The vineyard philosophy is guided by a clear principle: to work with the utmost respect for nature in order to achieve maximum concentration, complexity, personality, and aromatic richness in the grapes. These qualities are then carefully transferred into the wine, preserving balance, authenticity, and a deep connection to the land that has defined La Tosa from the very beginning.
