The vermouth encyclopedia

Vermutpedia

Rojo

Canelli

Red · Artisan · Medium-sweet

Contratto Vermouth Rosso

Contratto

Canelli , Italia

Re-evaluation pending

How we calculate the Vermutpedia Score →

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 Rosso is the artisan re-edition of one of Piedmont's most emblematic Turinese vermouths, made in Canelli by the winery founded by Giuseppe Contratto in 1867. According to the official product sheet, it is built on Cortese white wine — an indigenous Monferrato grape — fortified and aromatised with extracts of thirty-one natural herbs, spices, roots and seeds, eight of them secret, plus natural caramel that gives the characteristic dark red colour. The house defines it as «morbido, sfaccettato, pulito»: soft, faceted and clean. Contratto resumed vermouth and liqueur production in the 1920s with recipes that, according to corporate history, have remained almost unaltered; today it forms part of the Italian author vermouth revival alongside the brand's Bianco. At seventeen degrees alcohol and 75 cl bottle, it occupies a niche of serious Piedmontese vermouth, intended both for classic cocktail work and aperitivo in glass. The winery, also celebrated for Metodo Classico sparkling wines in Canelli's underground caves, brings to this rosso the same demand for natural raw materials and traditional processes that distinguish the firm from Monferrato.

Nose and palate

The official website details a broad, very Piedmontese aromatic range: coriander, bay, chamomile, cinnamon, ginger, angelica, clove, nutmeg, bitter orange, gentian, nettle, sweet orange, carob, juniper, rhubarb, hibiscus, sage, red cinchona, lemon, elderflower, bergamot, liquorice and sandalwood, among other species. The production method — fine hammer-mill frantumazione, cold extraction for about twenty days with hydroalcoholic solution, blending with wine, alcohol and sugar, filtration and about forty days' refinement in steel — explains a clean profile, without solid residue and with well-integrated botanical layers on the Cortese base. On the palate, Contratto rosso balances Turinese sweetness, gentian and implicit absinthe bitterness, and citrus freshness of bitter orange and bergamot. Texture is round but not cloying; the house's «sfaccettato» character is perceived in the succession of warm spices — cinnamon, clove, ginger — over an herbaceous background. The finish is persistent, with elegant bitterness and liquorice and sandalwood notes. Served between 6 and 8 °C in a tulip glass, as Contratto recommends, it reveals complexity without the heaviness of industrialised red vermouths loaded with artificial colourants.

How to serve it

Contratto indicates a service temperature of 6 to 8 °C and tulip-type glass to concentrate the spiced bouquet. It is a reference vermouth for classic Americano — red vermouth, bitter and soda — and for Negroni or Manhattan where a Piedmontese rosso with herbaceous personality and structured bitterness is sought. Also works alone with large ice and orange twist in a tumbler, Turinese aperitivo tradition adapted to the contemporary palate. With its real Cortese wine base — not neutral alcohol — it adds vinous depth to combinations where commercial vermouths bring only sweetness. Pairs with olives, charcuterie, semi-aged cheeses and salted Piedmontese appetisers. In cooking it can aromatise reductions and sauces requiring spiced notes without dominating the dish. The 75 cl bottle and 17% vol. make it versatile in professional bar and domestic use. For anyone exploring the Italian vermouth revival, Rosso Contratto is the gateway to a house with history since 1867 and documented vermouth recipes since the 1920s.

Production context

Giuseppe Contratto founded the cantina in Canelli in 1867, initially dedicated to Monferrato Moscato and bottle-refermented sparkling wines; vermouth and liqueur production began in 1920, according to the official history page. Current Vermouth Rosso reproduces that tradition with Cortese wine, alcohol, water, sugar, thirty-one natural botanical extracts and natural caramel for colour. The process includes fine milling, twenty-day cold maceration, blending, refrigeration, filtration and about forty days' rest in stainless steel tanks before bottling. Seventeen degrees alcohol, 75 cl, made in Canelli (province of Asti, Piedmont). Contratto vermouth range includes the complementary Bianco; the winery shares historic tuff caves excavated with Alta Langa and Asti sparkling wines of the house. For Vermutpedia, this rosso represents recovered historic Piedmontese vermouth: authentic wine base, 100% natural botanicals and a «morbido, sfaccettato, pulito» profile verifiable on the official contratto.it sheet.

Discover more

More from Contratto

View all (2) →

More from Canelli

Same type and style — Red · Medium-sweet

Country guide

The best Italian vermouths

Birthplace of modern vermouth: we are re-evaluating the full Italian catalogue. Until the new scores are published, the table at the top remains empty.

View Italia ranking →