History
Foundation and early international expansion
Giuseppe Contratto founded Contratto in Canelli in 1867. It is presented as Italy's oldest sparkling-wine producer and as the first Italian estate to make sparkling wine by the metodo classico. Over the following decades its activities encompassed Moscato and red wine, bottle-fermented sparkling wine, still white wine, vermouth, tonic preparations and syrups.
The first surviving Contratto vermouth formulas date from the 1890s and initially supplied a local market. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Contratto wines were already leaving Canelli for destinations around the world. The house served as a personal supplier to both the Vatican and the Italian Royal Family, while medals from international exhibitions and competitions contributed to its reputation.
The first Italian vintage sparkling wine
The 1919 Contratto Extra Brut was the first vintage-dated sparkling wine made in Italy. Its production belonged to a house tradition based on secondary fermentation in bottle, prolonged maturation and manual riddling.
Vermouth production expanded during the 1920s. The historic formulas were revised and a growing share of production was exported. Contratto Vermouth di Torino became particularly fashionable in the 1930s, when annual vermouth output reached approximately 100,000 bottles.
Post-war contraction and the end of vermouth production
Vermouth retained a market in Europe and overseas after the Second World War, although its popularity declined. During the 1960s it fell out of fashion, particularly in Italy, and the Contratto family discontinued production altogether.
Sale to Carlo Bocchino
Contratto remained under family control for 126 years. In 1993 it was sold to Carlo Bocchino, proprietor of a grappa distillery and an enthusiast for monumental architecture. Under the Bocchino family, greater emphasis was placed on red-wine production. Carlo Bocchino also invested substantially in restoring the historic cellars, formal reception rooms and tasting spaces. He later managed the documentation required for the cellars' UNESCO candidacy.
Collaboration and acquisition by the Rivetti family
Before the change of ownership, Giorgio Rivetti had already spent several years consulting at Contratto to improve the quality of its sparkling wines. The results of this collaboration, combining Contratto's facilities with Rivetti expertise in viticulture and winemaking, were expected to become evident from the 2008 vintage onward.
The Rivetti family's passion for Champagne and traditional sparkling wine led La Spinetta to acquire Contratto in 2011; the transfer was formally completed in June. The historic cellars and the potential to revive Italy's oldest traditional-method sparkling-wine house were central to the decision. The new owners set out to restore the strength of the Contratto name, raise quality and broaden the sparkling-wine portfolio.
At the time of the acquisition, sparkling base wine was being purchased from producers in Oltrepò Pavese. The long-term plan was to control fruit quality directly by establishing estate sources of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. New vineyards were purchased immediately, and the Rivetti approach was applied to the production of traditional-method sparkling wine. Contratto subsequently developed into an important reference within the Alta Langa denomination.
Revival and experimentation
The early Rivetti period combined historic techniques with experimentation. De Miranda Metodo Classico continued the house's work with bottle-fermented Moscato and spent four years on its lees. In January 2012, Contratto launched De Miranda Asti Spumante DOCG, made by the tank method and given an unusually long period on its lees in pressure-controlled steel.
In December 2012, the house revived four products that had disappeared after the 1960s: Contratto Vermouth Bianco, Vermouth Rosso, Americano Rosso and Fernet. Their return drew on formulas more than a century old, preserved through generations of the Contratto family. The restored preparations used natural herbs, spices, roots and seeds rather than industrial premixed flavourings.
UNESCO recognition
In June 2014, Contratto's approximately 5,000 m² of underground cellars were inscribed, together with Canelli's other historic cathedral cellars, as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Carlo Bocchino had handled the earlier application work, while the Rivetti family received the final inspections. The new owners framed the designation as both an honour and a responsibility to preserve the cellars and make the heritage accessible to visitors.
Terroir
Contratto is based in Canelli in the Asti area of Piedmont. Its renewed vineyard programme centres on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for traditional-method sparkling wine and Alta Langa production.
Cool growing seasons are particularly favourable for these varieties: slower ripening allows the fruit to develop while sugar levels remain comparatively low, preserving the balance required for sparkling-wine base material. In the cool 2014 season, yield was reduced further to improve ripening, and Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were the first Contratto grapes brought into the cellar.
The winery itself is built into the hill above Canelli. Its underground galleries were manually excavated through tuffaceous limestone to a depth of 32 m. The rock and depth maintain an annual temperature of approximately 13°C together with natural humidity, creating stable conditions for slow bottle maturation.
Winemaking
The post-2011 vineyard programme was designed to give Contratto direct control over the production and quality of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. New vineyards were acquired immediately after the change of ownership.
Vineyard decisions respond to the conditions of each season. In the relatively cool summer of 2014, yields were reduced beyond the usual level so that the remaining Chardonnay and Pinot Noir could ripen more effectively while retaining the low sugar levels desirable for sparkling-wine bases. Harvesting began with these two varieties, after which their first fermentation took place at Canelli.
Traditional-method sparkling wine
Contratto's central production tradition is the metodo classico: secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, followed by maturation, riddling and disgorgement. The house made Italy's first vintage-dated sparkling wine with the 1919 Contratto Extra Brut. Under the Rivetti family, riddling and the classic method again became the principal focus, while the range of sparkling wines was expanded.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir provide the core fruit for the renewed estate programme. Before the 2011 acquisition, Contratto bought sparkling base wine from Oltrepò Pavese. The new owners instead purchased vineyards with the objective of controlling grape production and quality. Initial fermentation of the harvested fruit takes place at Canelli.
The historic underground galleries provide the environment for bottle maturation. Covering more than 5,000 m² and reaching 32 m beneath the hill, they remain at approximately 13°C throughout the year and retain sufficient natural humidity for slow, steady ageing.
The house has also worked with extended lees maturation in both bottle and tank. Its bottle-fermented Moscato was matured on the lees for four years. A later Asti Spumante DOCG interpretation was vinified in pressure-controlled steel and retained on its lees for an unusually prolonged period before release.
Vermouth and aromatized products
The revived vermouth range begins with Cortese base wine held separately in a temperature-controlled stainless-steel tank. Between 30 and 50 natural herbs, spices, roots and seeds may be combined according to formulas derived from recipes more than a century old. Ingredients cited in the production tradition include cloves, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, citrus peel, coriander, sage, basil, thyme, chamomile, quinine, juniper berries, liquorice, gentian, mugwort, wormwood, rhubarb and bitter-orange peel. Organic-quality whole botanicals are preferred to premixed powders and manufactured flavourings.
Water and Italian brandy are combined in a stainless-steel tank. The prepared botanical mixture is held within strainers and undergoes a two-week cold maceration, comparable to infusing tea. Avoiding heat slows extraction but protects the botanicals and permits greater aromatic intensity; regular pump-overs assist the process.
After maceration, the botanicals are removed and the Cortese base wine is blended with the hydroalcoholic infusion. Sugar and additional Italian brandy are incorporated according to the individual formula. An initial filtration removes botanical solids and heavier essential oils.
Cold stabilization follows: the mixture is chilled to −8°C for approximately eight hours and then gradually returned to room temperature. Ten days of settling allow further natural clarification. The liquid is separated from the sediment before sulphites are added. Caramelized sugar is used for colour only in Vermouth Rosso and Americano Rosso, after which the products are bottled.
Philosophy
Contratto's renewal under the Rivetti family is built around continuity between historic practice and modern technical knowledge. The owners retained bottle fermentation, riddling and long maturation as defining elements rather than replacing them with faster production methods.
Their stated objective after the acquisition was to rebuild the Contratto name, improve quality and extend the sparkling-wine portfolio. Direct ownership of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards was central to that programme because control of sparkling-wine quality was intended to begin with the fruit rather than with purchased base wine.
The approach also permits experimentation within the house's traditions. Extended lees ageing was applied to Moscato made by both bottle and tank methods, while nineteenth-century vermouth formulas were revived with whole botanicals and cold extraction. The aim was not simply to reproduce the past, but to combine Contratto's heritage with contemporary viticultural and cellar knowledge.
Following the UNESCO inscription, the Rivetti family presented stewardship of the underground cellars as a responsibility to future generations. Public access was treated as part of that commitment, alongside the preservation and continued use of the galleries for wine maturation.