Contesa is a respected family-run winery in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, based in the Collecorvino hills northwest of Pescara. It was founded in 2001 by winemaker Rocco Pasetti, who had previously served as director of one of Abruzzo’s prominent cooperatives before deciding to start his own estate focused on high-quality, terroir-driven wines. The name Contesa literally means “quarrel” — a nod to the fighting spirit of Rocco’s great-grandfather, who defended his vineyards against a local landowner in the early 1900s.

Abruzzo is a rugged, sun-soaked wine region on Italy’s Adriatic coast, framed by the Apennine Mountains to the west and cooling sea breezes to the east. This dramatic landscape creates ideal conditions for balanced, expressive wines, with warm days, cool nights, and diverse soils. The region is best known for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a deeply colored red that delivers juicy dark fruit, gentle spice, and approachable structure, as well as Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, producing fresh, crisp whites with subtle texture.