Barolo’s Vietti winery bought by US company

Kyle Krause, the owner of the US convenience store chain Kum & Go, has bought Italian wine producer Vietti, based in the town of Castiglione Falleto in Barolo.

Vietti is based in the town of Castiglione Falleto in Barolo

The winery was sold to Krause Holdings last week for an undisclosed sum, however the deal was estimated to be worth close to €50 million by Italian news site La Stampa.

Krause Holdings is the parent company of Kum & Go convenience stores, which has more than 430 locations across the US, and also owns Solar Transport and a portfolio of real-estate holdings.

The deal includes the Vietti brand, the winery and 84 acres of vineyards, according to reports by Wine Spectator, and is the first major sale to a foreign investor within Barolo. The partnership between a US company and Italian winery was described as the start of a “lasting and extraordinary partnership” by Luca Currado, who will remain CEO of his family’s winery.

Krause Holdings will not be actively involved in running the winery, but will be consulted on strategy and all major decisions. This is the company’s second winery purchase having bought the Enrico Serafino winery, inventory and vineyards from Gruppo Campari in 2015, which will continue to be run separately from Vietti.

“From our standpoint, we’re looking for a long-term relationship between our family and the Vietti family,” said Krause speaking to the Wine Spectator.

Mario Vietti was the first to produce Vietti wines in 1919, having transformed the family farm into a grape growing and wine producing business.

In 1952 the business was taken over by Alfredo Currado, the husband of Luciana Vietti, who was one of the first to select and vinify grapes from single vineyards, which at the time was a radical concept.

Vietti was also was one of the first wineries to export its products to the US. Alfredo, who died in 2010 at the age of 78, is also widely credited as the ‘father of Arneis’, working to bring this indigenous variety back to prominence throughout the region.

The Vietti family