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Canelli

White · Artisan · Medium-sweet

Contratto Vermouth Bianco

Contratto

Canelli , Italia

Re-evaluation pending

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Overall impression

Vermutpedia is re-evaluating the Italian catalogue; the Vermutpedia Score for this entry remains pending until the new tasting round is complete. Contratto Vermouth Bianco is the white expression of one of Piedmont's most historic houses: Giuseppe Contratto founded the winery in Canelli in 1867, pioneer of the Italian classic method and, since 1920, producer of vermouths and liqueurs with techniques that contratto.it describes as practically unchanged since then. The white is built on Cortese wine, alcohol, water, sugar and extracts of fifty natural aromas — herbs, spices, roots and seeds, twenty-two of them secret — through hammer-mill frantumazione, cold extraction for about twenty days and refinement in steel for about forty days. Contratto defines it as fresh, complex and harmonious, with less caramel load than rosso and a more floral-digestive profile. At 16% vol. and 75 cl, it is a reference author white Turinese vermouth. For Vermutpedia, it represents historic Canelli white vermouth: artisan, botanical and heir to more than a century of savoir-faire.

Nose and palate

The official contratto.it sheet details a broad aromatic spectrum: hawthorn, coriander, marjoram, bay, chamomile, Cretan dittany, aloe, cinnamon, mint, ginger, angelica, clove, nutmeg, bitter and sweet orange, gentian, nettle, carob, juniper, rhubarb, hibiscus, sage, red cinchona, lemon, elderflower, bergamot, liquorice and sandalwood. On the nose the white presents floral and spiced, with white flowers and liquorice in the foreground. The palate combines light wormwood and gentian bitterness with citrus notes and semisweet roundness; texture is structured for a white, more defined than many industrial competitors, with integrated bitterness and persistent freshness. Contratto recommends serving between 6 and 8 °C in a tulip glass. Against anonymous whites, Contratto Bianco offers verifiable complexity: fifty declared botanicals and cold extraction method that preserves herbaceous nuances without liqueur aggressiveness.

How to serve it

Contratto orientates Vermouth Bianco toward classic aperitivo and precision cocktail work: Dry Martini, Vesper, white Americano or with soda and lemon on the terrace. Serve between 6 and 8 °C in tulip glass, with or without ice according to season; a lemon twist or green olive complete the Turinese ritual. With its structure and integrated bitterness, it works in cocktails where the white must hold against potent gin — white Negroni, Bronx or variants with soft bitter. Pairs with antipasti, seafood, salads, fresh cheeses and light Piedmontese cooking. 16% vol. and 75 cl format place it in the house's accessible premium range, natural complement to Contratto Rosso. Available at contratto.it and channels of the historic Canelli winery.

Production context

Contratto operates in Canelli (Asti) since 1867; in 1920 it began vermouth and liqueur production with recipes the house claims almost unaltered. Vermouth Bianco starts from Cortese white wine — not Moscato — fortified and aromatised with fifty natural botanicals; the method includes fine milling, twenty-day hydroalcoholic maceration, blending, refrigeration, filtration and forty days in steel. 16% vol., 75 cl. Tuff caves beneath Canelli, UNESCO Heritage, maintain constant 13 °C for other winery products. Contratto, today under Giorgio Rivetti and La Spinetta, combines metodo classico heritage and artisan vermouth line. For Vermutpedia, Contratto Bianco is an essential reference of historic Turinese white: Cortese, fifty botanicals and uninterrupted Canelli tradition since 1867.

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