Conterno Fantino

Conterno Fantino was founded in 1982 by Claudio Conterno and Guido Fantino, who joined their two surnames — and two families — into one estate. The site credits Alda Conterno, Guido's wife and Claudio's cousin, as the person who "wove together two families that knew how to respect and grow with each other". The first Barolo was bottled that same year, 1982, from the Sorì Ginestra vineyard.

The estate has always worked exclusively with vineyards in Monforte d'Alba, from its headquarters on the Ginestra hill — the highest point of the commune. The first vintages of its wines track the estate's growth: Sorì Ginestra 1982, Ginestrino 1984, Vigna del Gris, Monprà and Vignota 1985, Bricco Bastìa 1992, Bastìa 1993, Mosconi Vigna Ped and Barolo Chinato 2004, Prinsìpi 2005, and the newest cru, Castelletto Vigna Pressenda, in 2013.

In 1996 the estate obtained organic certification — a cornerstone it still highlights today. A geothermal system has been active since 2008, and a photovoltaic system became fully operational in 2025. Today the second generation — Claudio's children Noemi and Matteo Conterno and Guido's children Elisa and Fabio Fantino — works alongside the founders; the site speaks of "more than 40 years of history".

The estate sits at Ginestra, the highest point of Monforte d'Alba, in the Langhe (Cuneo province, Piedmont) — a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. The site describes views towards four Alpine ranges — the Maritime, Cottian, Graian and Pennine Alps, with Monviso (3,841 m) and Gran Paradiso (4,061 m) — and breezes carrying scents from the Ligurian Sea.

The 27 hectares of vineyards lie at 280–400 m altitude (up to 550 m for Dolcetto and Chardonnay plots), on slopes of 20–35% facing south, south-east and south-west, on soils of sand, silt, clay and marl. The tech sheets name the geological formations under the Barolo crus: sandy Marne di Sant'Agata Fossili under Sorì Ginestra and Mosconi, and the Formazione di Lequio under Vigna del Gris and Castelletto Pressenda. Vine age ranges from 15 to 40 years; yields run 60–90 quintals/ha depending on variety.

The estate describes its goal as "elegance, fruit, and the beauty of things that you don't truly know why you like, but like very much", and says each vintage should "know how to say something worth listening to". It avoids ranked vintage evaluations, instead encouraging collectors to "build your own cellar, setting aside another bottle for every one you open". The stated pillars are respect for the environment, organic certification, and sustainability of both vineyards and processing — presented as observable practice rather than marketing narrative.