Piemonte
, Italy
Winery Overview
The Giuseppe Cortese winery is a small, family owned winery, known for producing exquisitely balanced wines
from the Barbaresco zone and run by those who possess an intimate knowledge of the Nebbiolo grape. A native of
Barbaresco, Giuseppe Cortese began a lifelong passion for winemaking by working with his father, Giacomo, in the
family business. Giuseppe realized the future of high quality Barbaresco wines was in developing the potential of the
terroir
and began reorienting the family’s wine business, remodeling the winery, improving vinification techniques
and purchasing new land among the famous Rabajà vineyards. Giuseppe’s son, Piercarlo, joined him in the 1990s,
after graduating from the highly regarded Enological School of Alba.
Location of Vineyards
Located in the heart of the famous Rabajà zone, the winery sits a mile from the ancient town of Barbaresco. The
Cortese winery and family home sit atop the bowl that cradles the Rabajà cru vineyard, one of Barbaresco’s finest
single vineyards. On the other side of Cortese’s 20 acres of vines, in the adjacent village of Trifolera, you will find the
Nebbiolo vineyard.
Winemaking Philosophy
Attentive, rigorous care of the estate’s vineyards, strict selection of the best clusters, a traditional approach to
vinification, and a gentle hand with modern techniques are the ingredients that define the unmistakable personality
and unique flavors of Cortese’s wines. The winery houses various sizes of the larger traditional botti (large barrels),
used for the vinification of Nebbiolo. Cortese believes that each lot needs to be treated individually and thus,
requires several different sizes of aging vessels, which yields wines of incredible depth and balance.
Piemonte
, Italy
Winery Overview
The Monchiero Carbone winery was established in 1990, with the goal of reuniting vineyards owned by two
branches of a family (Monchiero and Carbone) with winemaking tradition dating back to 1918. Today, it is owned and
operated by husband and wife, Francesco and Lucrezia Monchiero, who specialize in creating Arneis from two of
the area’s best vineyards.
Location of Vineyards
Located in the village of Canale, in the heart of the Roero and separated by the Tanaro River, lies the family’s two
vineyards which comprise the Monchiero Carbone estate. Monbirone consists of hard, limey almost chalky soil ideal
for bestowing structure, power and grandeur on the Barbera variety. Tanon consists of light, dry, sandy soil, which is
ideal for showcasing the fragrance and appeal of Arneis.
Winemaking Philosophy
Francesco and Lucrezia demonstrate a dynamic, energetic approach to winemaking where all wines are estate
bottled in an effort to raise awareness of the quality of small volume production and diversity. Their philosophy is
to respect the origins of the land, providing their vines with natural nourishment, ultimately allowing them to yield
just the right amount of well concentrated fruit. While Arneis is the essence of the Monchiero Carbone winery, high
quality Barbera and Nebbiolo are produced here as well.
