Viñedos del Contino was founded in 1973, becoming the first Rioja chateau concept winery. The former manor house in Laserna, in the municipality of Laguardia, is surrounded by 62 hectares of vineyards from which all its wines are sourced along a bend of the river Ebro. Its 16th-century cave cellars are amongst the oldest in the Rioja region. They are home to the echoes of deeply rooted winemaking tradition, blended with the voices of cutting-edge technologies.
The history of the house dates back to the 16th century and is reflected in the winery’s name. The officer in charge of the one hundred soldiers who watched over the royal family continuously (or ‘de continuo’ in Spanish), from the Catholic Monarchs era onwards, was known as the ‘contino’. Its rich history also tells how Saint Gregory (the patron saint of vineyards) once passed through this Riojan estate, which is why his figure appears on the winery’s logo, and some of the vineyard’s plots bear his name.
The 62 hectares of vineyards are divided into individual plots, all of which are harvested and cultivated separately. This allows for the best understanding of each plot and wines that reflect their own unique characteristics.
Contino Garnacha is produced from grapes grown in the calcareous soil of the Pajera estate (founded in 1980), the alluvial and sandy soil of the Central estate (1950), and the stony soil of the Lentiso estate (1940).
Contino Garnacha is made from grapes that are hand-harvested and carefully sorted in the vineyard before being subjected to a meticulous selection process in the winery. The grapes are placed in a French oak vat, where they undergo pre-fermentation maceration until fermentation begins spontaneously. Alcoholic fermentation comes to an end after eight days. However, the Garnacha remains in the vat for a further 15 days. Next, it is transferred to a 2000-litre Stockinger wooden vat and twelve 500-litre barrels, where it remains for ten months. The wine is then aged and refined in a concrete tank for a further five months.
