Story: Renato Corino | Piedmont

The wines of the Corino brothers have long been known for outstanding qualities, but the big breakthrough came only at the end of the 80s. At that time, the decision was also made to dispense with artificial fertilizers and other additives - the yield per hectare is also severely limited by thinning. As with many of the smaller wineries in Piedmont or even in nearby Burgundy, Corino's wines benefit from manual labor such as manual pigeage. Winemaking legend Elio Altare is Renato Corino's teacher and advised him on the strenuous but rewarding artisanal production of the wines.The brothers Giuliano and Renato Corino have always had their own ideas and ideas about how to run the winery. No wonder that their father, during his lifetime, took care of welding the two lateral thinkers together. Still on his deathbed he announced: 'When I'm gone - then divide the winery into two wineries!' In 2005 the time had come, because before the brothers hopelessly fell out, they agreed to create two wineries. The stock of wine, barrels, cellar equipment and vineyards stored until then were divided fairly. - Gerardo [TS07/22]

'Renato Corino, tanned, in a black tank top and Nike shoes, trudges over through the grass. I've taken him out of the vineyard - late spring is the time of the 'trattamenti', the vine treatments, when the winemaker spends all his time in the vineyards to create the basis for a great vintage. 'At the moment the vines are growing a few centimeters every day,' he explains, 'so of course there's a lot to do.' Renato Corino is 41 years old, a passionate winemaker and also Önologist of the family estate in the middle of Annunziata, a suburb of La Morra. The majority of his 17 hectares of vineyards are located around the winery - an exception in the Barolo area. Work in the vineyard and cellar is a family affair: three generations help out when thinning out or picking is needed. In the cellar, however, Renato has sole responsibility, ensuring that everything runs optimally, not only for Barolo, but also for Barbera and Dolcetto. Corino started working at the winery when he was 13. 'Like most of the winemakers' kids here,' he laughs. His most important wines are the four single-vineyard Baroli Arborina, Giachini, Rancaglie, Rocche dell'Annunziata and the Vecchie Vigne selection, as well as a standard Barolo. All wines are aged in barriques. Asked about his philosophy, Renato Corino explains: 'We simply want to get the best out of the terroir, which is different everywhere here in La Morra. The differences that you notice between the wines when you taste them come from the vineyard, not from the cellar." - Die neuen Barolisti (Vinum)

'Why do a long fermentation, achieve harder tannins and then make the wines beautiful to rebalance them? Is it better to make a wine that is better after 20 years than one that is better in its first 20 years?" - Elio Altare

'Corino's Barolo has the compelling charm of a wine that is a pleasure to drink even in the first few years, but which remains fresh and untainted even after many years." - Dr. Jens Priewe