Aldo Conterno was born in 1931, the second son of Giacomo Conterno. In 1954, Aldo left Italy and joined two uncles who lived in San Francisco with a view to start a winery in Napa Valley. However, soon after his arrival to the United States he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served for two years in Korea, leaving with an honorable discharge and the rank of Specialist. Conterno returned to Italy after having spent near five years away. Aldo Conterno had been inspired by the modernist innovations of Angelo Gaja of Barbaresco, and differs in style and method from the strict traditional methods of his brother Giovanni, Aldo Conterno wines are still considered largely traditional, but for a few exceptions

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Aldo Conterno has been described as Piemonte's most talented winemaker, and his wines have frequently been ranked among finest of the region, often with the emphasis on the balance. British wine publication Decanter rated Poderi Aldo Conterno among Italy's shortlist of Second Growths. The vineyards are now managed using organic methodology. Among Barolo aficionados the wines of Aldo Conterno have earned a reputation for being "modernist" but with a blend of traditional Barolo winemaking practices. Like many traditional Barolo makers, Conterno favored long aging of his wines prior to their release to the public. For his Riserva Gran Bussia, the wine would typically be aged 3 years in large Slavonian oak casks followed by two years in stainless steel and another year in bottle prior to release. Unlike many modernist Barolo winemakers, Conterno did not use many small oak barriques however he did adapt to the modernist method of shortening the maceration time during fermentation and pressing the skins earlier than many traditional Barolo producers. These mixture of practices tended to create wines that are often described in wine literature as "powerfully structured" like many traditional producers but with a "depth of fruit" that is often described of modernist Barolo wines. Explaining why he insisted on the use of large, used botti and never apply French new barriques for oak influence, Conterno stated, "Vanilla, toast, spice and sweet tannins don’t belong in Barolo".