About Sibona
Sibona is a family-owned winery and distillery based in Piobesi d'Alba in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The estate produces Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba, and Langhe Nebbiolo, among other traditional Piedmontese wines. Sibona is also recognized for its grappa production, distilling pomace from local grape varieties including Moscato and Nebbiolo.
Prices are for take away and shipping. The wine bar serves from its own list.
The winery
About Sibona
The distillery
Distilleria Sibona stands in the Roero, in Piobesi d'Alba, a few kilometres from Alba in Piedmont. According to its own account it began about a hundred years ago on the site of an old kiln. It is counted among the historic distilleries of the region, still run in a craft way, and it holds the old distilling licence number 1, issued by the tax authority that oversees distilleries. The company presents this as a sign of a long past.
The first stills were heated by an old steam locomotive, which later gave way to copper stills. Grape marc is distilled fresh, as soon as it reaches the distillery, so that the aromas of the harvest are carried over. The distillery says its grappas gain their character from careful selection of local marc, patient distillation, constant upgrades to the equipment, the work of three winemakers who have specialised in spirits for years, the removal of the heads and tails, and long ageing, mostly in tonneau and barriques.
The area around it is a major wine zone, where Nebbiolo for Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero grows alongside Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato, Chardonnay, Arneis and Brachetto. It sits where the Roero and Langhe meet, and it is also known for white truffles.
The spirits
Grappa is the core of the range: single variety grappas, blended grappas, vintage reserves, and a XO that rests over six years in tonneau. Two ageing cellars hold casks of different sizes, including ones that held Port, Madeira, Sherry, Tennessee whiskey, rum and Sauternes, which give the special reserve grappas. One example is a Nebbiolo grappa aged over two years and finished in Port casks. There are also Barolo reserves aged five and eight years.
The company also makes a Vermouth di Torino Rosso Superiore with Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC called Civico 10, an Italian whisky with peated malt, gin, an amaro, a spirit distilled from craft beer and a grape distillate. Its patented Graduata bottle, with notches on the side showing the volume, takes its shape from the glass jars of old herbalist shops.
Today
Sibona says it was named Distillery of the Year at the ISW world competition for seven years in a row, from 2018 to 2024, and that it is the only distillery to receive 98 out of 100 for four products at the IWSC. Guided visits through the stills and the ageing cellars can be booked.
- Founded
- About a hundred years ago (the winery's own wording)
- Area
- Piobesi d'Alba, Roero, Piedmont