Giovanni Corino – a family winery
Giovanni Corino started making his own wines in the 1980’s. As many of the other winemakers in the area, his family farmed land and sold the fruit. Today, Giovanni spends more time in his vegetable garden than in the vineyards. Giovanni’s son Giuliano runs the show today, along with his wife Stefania and their two children, Veronica and Andrea.
Kind. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of the Corino family. The first time I flew solo in Piemonte, my second winery visit was with Corino. My brother and I had bought some wine at the previous winery, Nadia Curto, and proceeded to by more wine at Corino. At age 19, I didn’t have a rental car, so we were on foot. And Stefania, who gave us the winery tour, offered to drive us back up to La Morra. Believe me, we were eternally grateful. I don’t know if you’ve walked from Annunziata to La Morra, but it’s quite a hill.
On another occasion, I found myself early at a tasting, this time with Andrea Corino. Giovanni and his wife live above the winery, and they saw me standing outside. With my basic Italian skills I managed to explain the situation, and it wasn’t long before I found myself in Giovanni’s kitchen drinking coffee! With my conversational Italian and his Piemontese dialect, conversation was interesting, but we managed. I seldom witness such kindness of strangers, and it’s one of the reasons why I love Piemonte.
Wines & Winemaking
Giovanni Corino follows what some like to call the “modern style” of wine making. With small oak barrels, also called barrique, they make about 50 000 bottles a year. All the vineyards are in La Morra, with barolo vineyards in Arborina, Giachini and Bricco Manescotto. In addition to the Dolcetto, Barbera and Langhe Nebbiolo, they also make a Barbera Ciabot du Re, and a L’Insieme.
They follow similar methods for all their wines. Maceration takes place between 5-7 days in a temperature controlled rotaryfermenter, at about 25 – 30 degrees celcius. The Dolcetto, Barbera and Langhe Nebbiolo spend about 10 months in steel tanks before bottling. The Barolo’s and the Barbera superiore spend time in small oak barrels. The precentage of new and old oak depend on the wine.
Fun fact
Giovanni Corino has one of the best vegetable gardens in La Morra (maybe even Piemonte). He supplies many of the homes, hotels and restaurants with his superior vegetables. I stayed in a B&B once, and the tomatoes provided were grown by Giovanni.
Fun fact II
Andrea Corino did an internship at a winery in New Zealand. It’s fairly common for the younger generation to explore wineries outside their own area.
Giovanni Corino Wines
Wines available in:
Norway
Belgium
Denmark
Italy
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Dolcetto d’Alba
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Dolcetto d’Alba
Grape: 100% Dolcetto
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 7000
Color: dark red, violet
Fragrance: dark berries, fruity
Taste: light to medium bodied, fresh and fruity
Food pairing: something light, like a basic pizza
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25 – 30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days of maceration
Ageing: 8-10 months in steel tank
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey Calcareous
Exposure: West
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Barbera d’Alba
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barbera d’Alba
Grape: 100% Barbera
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 12000
Color: ruby red
Taste: good acidity, fresh
Food pairing: salami, cheese, turkey, ribbe, pinnekjøtt
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days of maceration
Ageing: 8-10 months in steel tanks
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey and Calcareous
Exposure: West & South West
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Barbera d’Alba Ciabot dù Re
The vines for the Giovanni Corino Ciabot dù Re are old and the soil porous. After the maceration in rotary fermentor, the wine goes through fermentation in oak barrels (50% new, 50% used). It will spend about 18 months in barrels before bottling.
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barbera d’Alba Ciabot dù Re
Grape: 100% Barbera
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 2500
Color: ruby red
Fragrance: red fruits
Taste: powerful yet smooth with good acidity
Food pairing: salami, cheese, turkey, ribbe, pinnekjøtt
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Method: Sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation takes place in small oak barrels
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: 18 months in small oak barrels, 50% new and 50% used. Then 3-4 months in steel tanks
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey and Calcareous
Exposure: West & South West
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Langhe Nebbiolo
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Langhe Nebbiolo
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 10 000
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: cherries, liquorice, violets and forest floor
Taste: good structure, notes of cherries and liquorice
Food pairing: red meat, pasta, pizza
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Method: Sugar fermentation and malolactic fermentation in steel tanks
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: 8-10 months in steel tanks
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey and Calcareous
Exposure: South & South West
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Barolo Del Comune di La Morra
This is the classic Barolo, meaning it’s a blend of multiple plots. Recent changes to the regulations allow for the winemakers to write the Comune of the wine on the label.
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barolo Del Comune di La Morra
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 10 000
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: red fruits, cherries, liquorice
Taste: medium bodied, fruity,
Food pairing: red meat
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: 24 months in small oak barrels
Minimum ageing in bottle: 12 months
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey
Exposure: South
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Barolo Giachini
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barolo Giachini
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 6000 & 150 Magnum
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: red fruits, ripe cherries, tobacco, violets
Taste: darker fruits, tobacco, liquorice, long finish
Food pairing: red meat
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: 24 months in small oak barrels, 35% new oak
Minimum aging in bottle: 12 months
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey-Calcareous
Exposure: South
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Barolo Arborina
The 2014 Barolo Arborina is a very pleasant, attractive Barolo. In 2014, the Arborina has good bit of midpalate pliancy that softens some of the typically coarse Arborina tannins. Black cherry and plum fruit are nicely pushed forward in this attractive, medium-bodied Barolo. Sweet tobacco, menthol, leather and dark spice all develop in the glass, but it is really the wine’s harmony that impresses most. All the elements are in the right place. The 2014 is a small-scale, somewhat hushed Arborina, but its balance is impeccable. Drink it over the next decade or so. Drinking window: 2022-2028. 92 points
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (02/18)
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barolo Arborina
Grape: 100% nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced:
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: delicate aromas, red fruits, floral
Taste: full body with silky smooth tannins, high acidity, long finish
Food pairing: red meat
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25 – 30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 day maceration
Ageing: 24 months in small oak barrels, 35% new and 65% used
Minimum aging in bottle: 12 months
VINEYARD
Soil: clay and sand
Exposure: south & southeast
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Date of harvest: In 2014, October 7th
Barolo Bricco Manescotto
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: Barolo Bricco Manescotto
Grape: 100% Nebbiolo
Classification: DOCG
Number of bottles produced: 2600 and 100 Magnums
Color: garnet red
Fragrance: red fruits, hint of tobacco
Taste: full bodied, red fruits, wet forest floor
Food pairing: red meat
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Temperature: 25-30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: 24 months in small oak barrels, 35% new oak
Minimum aging in bottle: 12 months
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey, calcareous, sandy
Exposure: West
Year of plantation/age of plants:
Date of harvest:
Giovanni Corino Barolo Riserva
The Barolo Riserva is made only in excellent vintages. The first vintage to be released was 2010, which they released in 2016 (6 years after the harvest). It spends about 30 months in bottle before the release.
L’Insieme
L’Insieme is group of winegrowers from the Langhe, united by a project, a dream and a goal. Elio Altare is the founder. The project aims to make wines which, under a single brand, tell a story of friendship and collaboration, of hard work, shared passion for the Langhe and its outstanding grapes. The dream is that, from this union, the resultant label will be a symbol of friendship and mutual aid. A wine that is our personal way of thanking the land that gave us our roots and its support.
Our goal is to make L’Insieme wine a practical ethical tool, allowing us to fund projects of high social value as a way of giving back to our local area a part of the good fortune and beauty it has given us. The wine is It is actually a combination obtained from the individual decisions taken by each producer, from traditional grape varieties such as the Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, with grapevines introduced only recently to the Langhe area, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Nero.
BASIC INFORMATION
Product name: L’Insieme
Grape: 40% Nebbiolo, 30% Barbera, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet
Classification: DOC
Number of bottles produced: 1000
VINIFICATION (Wine-making)
Method: each grape variety us vinified separately due to different harvest times. But they go through the same process.
Temperature: 25 – 30 degrees celcius
Length: 5-7 days maceration
Ageing: small french oak barrels for 18 months, 40% new and 60% used
Minimum aging in bottle: about 12 months
VINEYARD
Soil: Clayey and Calcareous
Exposure: South & South West
Pictures from the Giovanni Corino website.
