The Italian wine company, Barone Pizzini, has acquired three small Italian wine producers, Le Fabriche, Poderi di Ghiaccioforte and Pievalta, in a deal worth a total of €6.0m (US$6.4m).

Barone Pizzini expects the acquisitions to boost its annual turnover to €5.5m (US$5.8m) by 2005. The company recorded turnover of €2.2m (US$2.3m) in 2002.

Le Fabriche is located in Manduria in southern Italy and has an annual production of around 60,000 bottles. Poderi di Ghiaccioforte, located in Scansano in central Italy, produced 13,000 bottles in 2002, while Pievalta, in Maiolati Spontini in central Italy, produced some 36,000 bottles of wine last year.