Born in the Vineyard: The Cortese Family’s Quiet Revolution in Barbaresco
He grew up in the vineyard. Now we get to drink its story.
Jan de Weerd, Spoken Wines
This will hide itself!
Born in the Vineyard: The Cortese Family’s Quiet Revolution in Barbaresco
He grew up in the vineyard. Now we get to drink its story.
Barbaresco, May 2025
In the heart of Rabajà, one of Barbaresco’s most revered crus, there’s a modest house nestled among the vines. It’s not a guesthouse, nor a cellar door. It’s where Giuseppe Cortese was born. Where he grew up. Where he slept among the rows that would one day make Barbaresco known to the world.
At a time when his family was simply farming the land, Giuseppe had a different vision. He wanted to share what he tasted every day in the vines—what he felt growing up in Rabajà. So he began making wine. Quietly, carefully, he expanded his family’s holdings in this historic vineyard, and started bottling wines that spoke honestly of the place he called home.
Today, his children Tiziana and Pier Carlo carry that vision forward. Their wines, like their father’s, aren’t crafted to impress—they’re meant to express. The wines the Cortese family produces from this vineyard reflect Rabajà’s character: structured but agile, elegant yet grounded, and layers of depth.
Carried Forward, Close to the Ground
We arrived on a clear May morning, the sun finally breaking after days of rain. Gabriele, Tiziana’s husband and head of sales, welcomed us with humor and warmth thanking us for bringing along the sun. It’s a true family operation—everyone involved, everyone grounded. Tiziana shared memories from the vineyard deck. Pier Carlo shared his wine making philosophy from the cellar. Together, they shared a vision that is built on their father’s quiet courage to start his own winery and make wine from the vineyard in which he was borne. Now the family is inviting the world to experience it.
Pier Carlo and Gabriele sharing the families vision built on Guiseppe's quiet courage.
The Boy in the Vineyard
Giuseppe Cortese lived what most winemakers only dream about. His house still sits in the middle of Rabajà, looking out over vines shaped by sun, slope, and the cool breath of the Tanaro river valley. From this vantage point, his daughter Tiziana walked us through her father’s beginnings—when Barbaresco was seen as Barolo’s quiet sibling, not yet elevated on the world stage.
But Giuseppe felt the power of this terroir early. He sensed something noble in the soil and set out to make wines that captured its grace. Slowly, he acquired more parcels of Rabajà. Over time, a small patchwork of vines became a vineyard legacy.
Tiziana walked us through her father’s beginnings, growing up in the little house in the vineyard
Wines that Don’t Wear Makeup
In the cellar, his son Pier Carlo continues the family approach: minimal intervention, maximum expression. The wines are made traditionally— native yeast fermented parcel by parcel, aged in large barrels or neutral amphora, and blended only when the wines are ready to speak.
There are no tricks here. Only care. Even the Dolcetto and unoaked Chardonnay are treated with the same respect as the Barbaresco. The Dolcetto was a surprise—lean, dry, vibrant, nothing sweet about it as the name might imply. And the Chardonnay? More alpine than oaky, with notes of lemon and gooseberry, like a Piedmontese take on Grüner Veltliner. But it’s in the Rabajà Barbaresco that the full vision comes to life. Drinking it felt like stepping into a rose garden… and riding out on a horse with a leather saddle. Elegant, layered, but strong willed at heart. Drinking the Nebbiolo wines of Cortese is like riding a roller coaster: the entry is very easy and then the wine gets a hold of you, it grabs and takes you for a journey. The Rabaja Barberesco takes you to the highest levels, the deepest valleys and the longest finish.
Here is a link to Giuseppe Cortese website: www.cortesegiuseppe.it/en
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