This story begins in Italy, in 1878, when Antonio Domenico Salton left the town of Cison di Valmarino, in the Veneto region, searching for better opportunities in Brazil. He settled in the Italian colony of Vila Isabel, nowadays known as the city of Bento Gonçalves, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
The company was formally established in 1910, when the brothers Paulo, Angelo, João, José, Cesar, Luis and Antonio gave an entrepreneurial touch to the business of their father, the Italian immigrant Antonio Domenico Salton, who made wine informally, like most Italian immigrants did that time. The brothers began to cultivate grapes and produce wines, sparkling wines and vermouths, under the name “Paulo Salton & Irmãos”, in downtown Bento Gonçalves.
A century later, Salton is recognized as one of the main Brazilian wineries, leader in the commercialization of national sparkling wines in Brazil. Today, at the head of the winery, members of the fourth generation of the family preserve the legacy of its founder, Paulo Salton, supported by the values built over more than 100 years of history and inspired by the simplicity and hard work of the first generations.
In 1878, Antonio Domenico Salton, born in Cison di Valmarino, in the Italian region of Veneto, arrives in Brazil looking for new opportunities, like many other immigrants from Italy. He settled in the Dona Isabel colony (now Bento Gonçalves), where he married Lucia Canei, also an Italian immigrant, with whom he had ten children. In 1884, they founded, in front of the main church of the city, a small grocery store called “Casa di Pasto”, where they sold cheese and sausages and also hosted travelers and served meals. The wine served in there was produced with grapes harvested from the vineyards in the back of the premises.
Paulo Salton, the eldest son, takes over the family business after the passing of his father. In 1910, “Casa di Pasto” is formalized and, in 1922, it is renamed “Paulo Salton e Irmãos”. The already entrepreneurial brothers José and Cesar takes the family business to São Paulo, the main economic center in Latin America and, in 1948, they open a Salton unit there.
The family's vocation began a few years earlier, in 1933, when they started making sparkling wine. Under the guidance of the local parish priest, in 1940, Antonio “Nini” Salton, the family's first winemaker, produced the “Canonical Wine”, following the Vatican recipe. Until now, we elaborate and distribute the wine that is part of the liturgies in churches all over Brazil. After Paulo's death, the company is renamed “Vinhos Salton S/A - Indústria e Comércio Ltda.” in 1967, and later “Vinícola Salton S.A.”.
In the 1960's, Salton receives the distinction of being the official supplier of the Presidency of the Republic with the Presidente wine, one of the first white wines to achieve national prominence. Jânio Quadros, in 1961, chose his favorite product, saying “the President wine is my wine”. The 1970s mark difficulties in the Brazilian wine industry, which has less structure than the multinationals, and obsolete machinery. In this context, the elaboration of wines, in Bento Gonçalves, remains retracted, so the strategy adopted is to return to the performance of Presidente, a product launched in the 1950's and elaborated until now, in São Paulo.
The production of vitis vinifera wines began in 1999, with the Salton Classic line. Under the leadership of Angelo Salton Neto, a restructuring process takes place in the company. Seeking to produce high quality wines and sparkling wines with efficiency and international standards, a new production plant is built in the district of Tuiuty, in Bento Gonçalves-RS. Inaugurated in 2004, the unit is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, from the receipt of the raw material to the bottling of the bottles. Aiming to become a wine reference in the country, Salton has intensified its investments in the qualification of its products, updating processes and applying techniques that have allowed the distinction of its labels. The 2002 vintage of Salton Talento is elected as the best red wine of the year by experts in 2004, definitively placing Salton among the main names in Brazilian wine. The success of the label makes room for other wines in the category, such as Salton Desejo Merlot and Salton Virtude Chardonnay.
Tradition permeates the processes, guaranteeing the essence of our work, with the concern to elaborate wines and sparkling wines from a small winery, within a large company. As of 2005, we hold the leadership in the market of domestic sparkling wines sold in Brazil (NIELSEN), an achievement that continues today.
Under Daniel Salton's management, the activities at Azienda Domenico have started, in Campanha region. With 120 hectares of our own vineyards, cultivated in trellis system and mechanized harvest, we now have a unit for processing the first stage of winemaking, ensuring the transportation of raw material in perfect conditions, from Campanha to Serra Gaúcha, where it is processed into wines and sparkling wines, in Bento Gonçalves. The Terroir Salton project also begins, a partnership signed with 40 rural producers in RS, establishing standards of excellence in the cultivation and management of their vineyards, with technical support and a focus on sustainability.
With the objective of exploring opportunities in the growing of soft drinks and spirits, the Salton unit in the capital city of São Paulo, founded in 1948, is transferred to the city of Jarinu, in the countryside. In this new pilot plant, responsible for the production of distillates, new paths are opened for the development of other products besides the traditional Presidente.
The diversification of the portfolio becomes a strategic differential, with the launch of a Vodka and later a Gin at the new Jarinu plant. In the South, the exclusive Grape Tea Salton line of iced teas with grape juice starts to be produced, showing the capacity for innovation, as well as the brand's reliability in the market, highlighting the recognition of our products by customers.
Maurício Salton, part of the family’s fourth generation, takes over the leadership of the company along with a board of young and professional directors. Preserving the tradition of a century-old, in constant transformation company, becomes the main challenge of the new generation. From the technical development, both in precision viticulture and in the domain of the most modern oenological processes, comes Domenico, the company's first concept brand. They are unique products, special and limited editions that express the essence of the fruit’s region of origin.
Salton becomes the first and only national wine brand to achieve the top 1 ranking in Wine Brand Power (Wine Intelligence), an achievement previously exclusive to foreign brands. It opens the doors of the exclusive Enoteca Família Salton, on Pacaembu Avenue in São Paulo, with different environments for experiences with the brand's wines and sparkling wines, bringing together clients, guests, music and gastronomy. It is responsible for exporting over 800,000 bottles of sparkling wines among 25 countries, led by the United States, opening the international market with Brazilian sparkling wines. And, in 2020, celebrating 110 years, Gregório Salton, a member of the fourth generation of the family, takes over as the Company's Technical Director, joining the CEO Maurício Salton, Executive Director Luciana Salton, Commercial Director Cleber Slaifer, Industrial Director Marcos Flamia, and Administrative Director Marcelo Lucchese.
In 2021, Família Salton reached the mark of 1.5 million bottles exported, representing an increase of 46.19% over the previous year. With that, Família Salton was awarded with the “Prêmio Exportação RS”, which is a recognition for companies with innovative marketing strategies and great performance in the international market. Not only the high quality of our products can be proven by more than 130 awards received in the last 3 years but also by the recent conquest of new territories such as France, Ghana, Holland, Maldives, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, totalizing 32 countries exported to in the five continents.