We are the Vesco family
and our estate is RALLO.
The history of RALLO can be read in two chapters. The first begins in 1860, the official year of its founding, and spans more than a century of tradition. The second begins in 1996, when our family took stewardship of the estate.
These two eras are distinct — shaped by different times, philosophies, and products — yet together they tell the story of a brand that has remained true to its land while continuously evolving.
The Beginnings and Marsala
Before Marsala became known worldwide, the pride of Trapani was the Perpetui — oxidized wines of remarkable structure, alcohol, and depth of flavor. These were wines of celebration, poured at family tables for the most meaningful occasions.
Don Diego Rallo was the first Sicilian to truly recognize their potential. In 1851, he began his entrepreneurial journey, and by 1860, he had founded his winery. His vision quickly gained acclaim, and his Marsala wines — along with Passito di Pantelleria, whose promise he was among the first to champion — were soon traveling to Europe and the Americas, carrying the name of Sicily far beyond its shores.
The First Steps of the Vesco Family
May 8, 1920 — after a lifetime dedicated to farming, Benedetto Vesco acquired several plots of land cultivated with barley, wheat, sumac, and a few vines around the farmhouse known as Pattipiccolo.
Those plots — since expanded — form the agricultural heart of our company today. Benedetto had the foresight to plant vineyards and olive groves in the Alcamo area, beginning a tradition of wine production that, in those early years, was sold only in bulk. His vision laid the foundation for what would one day become RALLO’s modern chapter.
Between RALLO and Vesco
In the first two decades of the 20th century, Don Diego Rallo’s commercial ventures reached their height. His production of Marsala and Passito had become a pillar of Sicilian winemaking, a name of absolute prominence both at home and abroad.
It was against this backdrop of success and vitality that the Vesco family began their own agricultural story — one that would, decades later, intertwine with the Rallo legacy and give rise to the estate as we know it today.
The Acquisition of the Marsala Estate and Brand
1996 marked a decisive chapter in our history. In that year, the RALLO company merged with the Vesco family business of Alcamo, which acquired the Marsala facilities, the historic estate (baglio), and the RALLO brand itself.
Already active in wine production, the Vesco family saw this as the perfect opportunity to add value to their grapes — transforming them into estate wines. This transition marked the evolution from producers of sweet wines to masters of dry wines, with particular success achieved in the production of elegant, expressive whites.
From 1997 to Today
The years 2000–2010 were pivotal for RALLO, marked by significant structural investments that strengthened the estate’s foundations for the future. Between 2007 and 2010, the entire vineyard and olive grove were converted to organic cultivation — a commitment formally recognized in 2011 with BioSuisse certification.
Between 2012 and 2013, acclaimed Tuscan winemaker Carlo Ferrini lent his expertise as a consultant, helping to refine winemaking practices and elevate quality even further.
Innovation continued with the 2017 harvest, which saw the creation of AV01, a natural Catarratto wine made with no added sulfites. Today, every agronomic and winemaking technique is meticulously monitored to ensure excellence, vintage after vintage.
RALLO today
Today, the Vesco family is devoted to preserving the identity, refinement, and promotion of the wines and olive oil of the Trapani region, cultivating vineyards in Alcamo, Marsala, and Pantelleria.
The winery focuses primarily on white wines—crafted both for dining and reflection—while also honoring the region’s historic tradition of fortified wines. For this reason, Rallo proudly defines itself as “artisans of territorial whites.”
Rallo’s philosophy of production is grounded in respect for natural cycles, upheld through rigorously certified organic practices that exclude synthetic chemicals. The vineyards and olive groves are cared for mainly by skilled, fairly compensated hands, ensuring both meticulous attention to detail and excellence in the final product.
The Alcamo estate unfolds as a harmonious natural mosaic: neat vine rows share space with wild herbs, flowers, native trees, and protective hedges. Within this environment thrives a vibrant community of macro- and microorganisms that naturally enrich the soil, creating a balanced and resilient ecosystem that actively safeguards biodiversity.
Vineyard plantings range from 4,000 to 5,000 vines per hectare, calibrated according to grape variety and soil-climate conditions. This careful balance reduces yield per plant, naturally enhancing the concentration of sugars, anthocyanins, and polyphenols—essential to crafting wines of exceptional quality and aromatic complexity.
Cultivation is carried out predominantly under dry-farming conditions, relying on natural rainfall. Thanks to an artificial reservoir, the estate can provide one or two carefully timed irrigations only during periods of severe water stress, thereby preserving the natural concentration and quality of the grapes.
The rows are trained with vertical trellising to ensure optimal sunlight and ventilation, and are pruned according to the traditional Guyot and cordon spur methods. The vineyard structures are crafted from premium materials—natural wooden posts, galvanized steel, and stainless steel—guaranteeing both durability and purity, free from contamination.
A three-wire trellising system supports the vines while respecting their natural growth rhythms. At the head of each row, roses flourish: beyond their beauty, they serve as biological sentinels, their sensitivity providing early warning of potential vine diseases.
Today, Rallo looks to the future with the awareness of embodying a dual role: not only as a producer of wines of excellence—crafted to accompany food and leave a lasting impression on those who taste them—but also as a vigilant guardian of a unique cultural and environmental heritage, etched into the Sicilian landscape like a story written anew each day through the patient work of vineyards and olive groves.
This awareness has inspired a deliberate and courageous choice: to dedicate production almost entirely to fine dining.
In Rallo’s vision, fine dining represents a natural and vital bridge—a space of intelligent mediation where producer and final consumer meet in a profound dialogue shaped by the senses, by culture, and by shared emotion.
Within this context, conviviality takes on a new, layered dimension: multiple in its expressions, it becomes the bond uniting all the elements of the system that Rallo is helping to build—restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers, and guests, all connected by an invisible yet resilient thread woven of shared values and common goals.
To eat and drink consciously
To eat and drink consciously is to acknowledge and internalize a powerful truth: that our forks and glasses—humble, everyday instruments—carry immense power. They determine which foods and wines will continue to be produced tomorrow, and which will gradually fade into abandonment and oblivion.
This vision, which Rallo proposes and consistently embodies, is neither utopian nor nostalgic. It is a vision deeply rooted in the present and firmly projected into the future—toward an economic and social model both possible and practicable, where uncompromising quality, genuine environmental sustainability, and strong cultural identity sustain one another in a virtuous circle, generating value for all involved.
Every day, Rallo invests in research and innovation, fully aware that only through the continual evolution of techniques, openness to scientific discovery, and the courage to experiment with new solutions can it achieve the excellence demanded by fine dining and deserved by discerning consumers.
Yet this pursuit is always guided by a steadfast connection to the centuries-old traditions that have made Sicily renowned worldwide: time-honored cultivation methods, native varieties, and respect for the natural rhythms of ripening.
Every Rallo wine is crafted in strict harmony with the natural cycle of the seasons. Each bottle offers complete traceability—revealing the precise vineyard plot from which the grapes were harvested, the vintage with its unique climatic traits, and the enological choices that guided the winemaking. And every wine, without exception, is certified organic.
And so it shall be in the future.