Welcome to the Contratto Wine Cellar 

It’s true, most wine travelers flock to Piedmont for Nebbiolo and Barbera. A surprise to many visitors is the area’s emerging sparkling wine scene. The other surprise? It isn’t so new. Not far from the main tourist stops of Barolo and Barbaresco is Contratto, the maker of Italy’s first sparkling wine.

Beyond their palate pleasing bubbles and vermouth, the history makes it a must visit on any Piedmont wine travel itinerary. The Contratto wine cellar sits on 5,000 square meters of UNESCO protected Underground Cathedral Cellars. The space can house up to 3 million bottles of Contratto’s metodo classico (traditional or Champagne method) sparkling wine.

For most gourmands, whether food or drink be your vice of choice, a definite highlight of travelling is discovering the wonderfully foreign delights on offer in each country you visit.

Who hasn’t visited France determined to sample snails, frog’s legs and foie gras? Or haggis, black pudding and fried mars bars in Scotland? Although, granted, there are certain delicacies I imagine only the most adventurous of us would voluntarily try; German griebenschmalz, essentially spreadable pig fat, is one such example that quickly springs to mind.

You may have noticed that the wine world is currently seeing everything through rose coloured glasses these days. Yes, rosé is very much the wine du jour across the globe. But how much do we actually know about it, apart from the fact that it’s a pretty pink drink?

It’s time for further inspection, we here at Lazenne have decided!