Wine: Dolcetto d’Alba
Producer: Giovanni Corino
Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy
Grape varieties: dolcetto
Vintage: 2016
Eye: dark red, violet hue
Nose: dark berries, fruity, hints of hay
Mouth: light to medium bodied, smooth, fresh and fruity
Price Point: $12
Available at Vinmonopolet: no
Available at Systembolaget: no
There are many more wineries in Piemonte than then ones pictured but these are some of my favorites. You can also check out Winery Wednesday to read more about them.
I love Christmas, and as you can see Cascina Nuova is now all ready for Christmas. And how perfect is Giovanni Corino‘s wine for Christmas? The red label goes great with the Christmas colors!
Early December we had a sort of Christmas Party with food and baking and wine. My danish friend made some delicious danish cookies for us, and a really nice danish christmas meal. I love having such an international friend group; you get introduced to so many different foods and traditions. In addition to my danish friend, there was my dear friend from Bangladesh, a good friend from Canada and a new friend from Russia! Talk about diverse group of girls!
Check out my amazing baking skills! And my beautiful santa hat! See the glitter? This hat was bought at a mall in Pennsylvania when I was maybe 6 years old, and has been my favorite head wear ever since! Anyone have any Christmas traditions or favorite parts of the holidays?
Remember the time I went to see the geese? Well, here is a goose egg that was given to me that day! And I had that egg for breakfast one morning at Corte Gondina. The Nonna (mother of the owner) cooked it for me in the kitchen! Pretty cool!
Most of you think of wine when you hear Giovanni Corino. And they still make wine (don’t worry), but they also have geese! How cool is that?
I am actually terrified of geese, so the pictures are really zoomed in. These geese are not really scared of humans so they will come right up close, especially if Giovanni is there. They LOVE him. And his vegetables. Giovanni is also known for his garden (I wrote about it earlier), and it turns out the geese are just as big a fan as me. Rumor has it they ate all his lettuce and some of the carrots. Oops. Anyway, maybe it’s just me that’s fascinated with farm birds. But if you go, let me know! Are you brave enough to pet them? I was!
Just casually petting his goose
Do you know what Giovanni Corino is know for besides wine? Gardening!
Barolo is normally associated with wine, but sometimes we forget that many of the winemakers are farmers. Which means their skill also goes beyond the vineyards. So it’s self explanatory that many grow their own vegetables. And the “best garden” (according to the locals) is the garden of the Corino family. Giovanni and Carlo each have their own garden, both equally wonderful (at least in my non professional opinion.)
The gardens, located beside the Corino winery, are what all the other rookie gardeners aspire to. If you need any tips, I am sure the brothers won’t mind a chat. The only requirement is that you speak Italian and Piedmontese. Good luck!
Barolo is normally associated with wine, but sometimes we forget that many of the winemakers are farmers. Which means their skill also goes beyond the vineyards. So it’s self explanatory that many grow their own vegetables. And the “best garden” (according to the locals) is the garden of the Corino family. Giovanni and Carlo.
The gardens, which are located beside the Corino winery, are what all the other rookie gardners aspire to. If you need any tips, I am sure the brothers won’t mind a chat. The only requirement is that you speak Italian and Piedmontese. Good luck!
It may not be a surprise that I spent my time at Vinitaly in the Piemonte section. Many of my friends were there presenting their wines, including of course Giovanni Corino. Their labels were recently “updated” and as you can see they were on display at the fair. As I have tasted all their wines many times before, my stop there was mostly to say hello.
Also displayed at the fair was their new brochure. A beautiful collection of photos and of course information about their wines! You can read more about their winery here.
Dinner at More e Macine, La Morra
I will just share one photo for now from the wonderful weekend I just spent in Barolo. The weekend was filled with good wine, tasty food, amazing people and horrible weather! But for me the weather doesn’t play a huge role, especially with so many incredible people surrounding me.
The photo is from my Birthday dinner on Friday with my winemaker friends. You can spot Silvia Altare and Gigi, Giuliano and Stefania Corino, Nadia Curto and her husband Davide, Jenny Battaglino and Marco Marengo, my friends from Norway and my brother Ask. Quite a group of people! Not pictured is Fabio Burlotto and Chiara Boschis. I am so grateful that so many wonderful people wanted to share in my birthday celebration!
Giovanni Corino is a family owned winery located in La Morra, or more precisely, Annunziata, in the Barolo area. The winery is fairly small, they produce about 40,000 bottles a year. They produce the “normal” lineup, meaning Dolcetto, Barbera, Langhe Nebbiolo and a few Barolos. You will also find their Barbera Cibot dù Re, which is their superiore barbera (and personally one of my favorites).
If you are looking for a winery to visit, this should be on your list. The family is so friendly and you will have the chance to taste many excellent wines. To make an appointment you can visit their website http://www.corino.it/http://www.corino.it/ or send them an email: corinogiuliano@libero.it
View from their winery
PIEMONTEGIRL 