Prosit has bought 100% of Casa Vinicola Caldirola and its historic brand, “La Cacciatora”

Prosit Wine Group, led by Sergio Dagnino, together with the Quadrivio & Pambianco, the “Made in Italy Fund”, which closed in 2021 at a consolidated turnover of 36 million euros, has acquired 100% of Casa Vinicola Caldirola and its historical brand, “La Cacciatora”. The Lombard company, founded in 1897 in Contra (Lecco), instead, closed in 2021 at a turnover of 40.3 million euros and 2.2 million euros EBITDA. The company exports 40% of its production, including wines from every Italian region, to over 60 countries, and is in the portfolio of the Prosit winery holding. After having acquired Cantine Torrevento (Apulia), Collalbrigo Grandi Vini (Veneto) and Storiche Cantine Nestore Bosco (Abruzzi) in February 2022, it also acquired the Cantina di Montalcino, as well as completed a strategic partnership with the US importer, Votto Vines.
“It was necessary for us, and it was in Prosit’s initial vision, to dedicate ourselves to a winery with exclusive wines because 50% of the wine sold around the world is unlabeled, but we could not meet this need with premium wineries, which must focus on their brand”, Sergio Dagnino, CEO of Prosit, told WineNews. “Caldirola is an excellent winery and has great potential, plus logistically it is perfect for serving both mass retail channels and Northern Europe. Today, it produces 40 million bottles a year, 40% abroad and 60% in Italy, mainly from the “La Cacciatora” brand. We will have to safeguard the customer portfolio as well as rationalize the range of products, not increasing volumes, but enhancing the product”.
“Prosit has a long road ahead. We have more acquisitions in our sights, and are trying to find the maximum possible collaborations from a logistical and sales network point of view (cross-selling)”, Sergio Dagnino continued. “However, downstream each winery has its own production, supply chain, vineyards and brands. Agronomic control in the vineyards is actually more important than the property. To date, in Apulia, Torrevento has 400 hectares, of which 200 are owned and 200 are affiliated farms. Torrevento controls Oria Wine, in the heart of Primitivo di Manduria, in its second year of activity, and aims to have between 100 and 130 hectares available. We have 30 hectares with Nestore Bosco (Abruzzi) between Majella and Gran Sasso, and we are working on an agreement for another 60. We have inherited the relationships with the winemakers of Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, at Cantina di Montalcino, meaning, 50 members and 120 hectares. In Veneto we started with a very high-quality winery, Collalbrigo, less than 10 hectares. We need to be cautious about Prosecco, so for the moment we are focusing on the top of the range, Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Rive”.
Prosit still has quite a bit of surface to cover, but they are going towards aggregation, which is necessary in order to remain competitive on the markets. “The entrepreneurs”, stated Dagnino, “are seeing the benefits of continuing to manage the winery as part of a group that has an international sales network, which offers all the managerial support, as well as making their children grow professionally. And let’s not forget the contractual strength in terms of logistics, nor the partnership with the US importer, Votto Vines, which guarantees a preferential lane on the American market. Our strength and pride is having wineries that represent the Italian territories well, and have the know-how to best interpret their uniqueness and typicality”, the CEO of Prosit concluded.