First Woman to Share the Helm Of a Historic Winery
Luisa Corino with a very old bottle of her family’s wine, Case Corini.
By now, if you follow us, you know that we are big fans of the family winery Case Corini in Piedmont Italy for a whole bunch of reasons: they make biodynamic and natural wine, practice regenerative agriculture, and the 5th generation for this historic Italian winery was the beloved and esteemed viticultural researcher Lorenzo Corino.
We’ve written about how they are farming sustainably, about the area around their family home, estate and winery, called the Monferrato, and the layout and composition of their different vineyards.
But, so far, we haven’t gotten to know really well the woman behind the newest generation of this family winery: Luisa Corino. Along with her brother Guido Corino, they make up the 6th generation of Corinos to grow and make wine for their family’s estate, and Luisa has since become an integral part of running it.
While we’ve spoken with Luisa on numerous occasions, gleaning a few tidbits about her during the VeroTalk with the Corino siblings, such as when they took over the winery from their father, Lorenzo Corino in 2017, and how she still remembers her first harvest in 1982, we wanted to learn more about Luisa, what makes her “tick":” her family, passions and hobbies, work, and visions of the future. Check out this exclusive interview to get to know Luisa, the first woman to join the helm of her family’s winery.
Meet Luisa Corino
Can you tell us a little bit about your husband and children?
My husband, Andrea, and I have been married for 19 years. We have three children together: Stefano is our oldest at 17 years old and twins Edoardo and Gabriella who will be 14 years old at the end of the year. We live about 5 kilometers [about 3 miles] from the winery in the village of Repergo, a hilltop near the town of Isola d’Asti.
Does your husband and children help around in the winery or vineyards?
They do help around the winery, such as when we have visitors or we are harvesting, but only when they are free from their studies or sports.
Are you children interested in taking a larger part in the world of wine in the future?
The potential 7th generation of Case Corini, Luisa’s three children: Stefano, Edoardo, and Gabriella, with the winery dog, Bric, during harvest season.
It seems a little early for them to know what they what to be as “grown ups”. At the moment, my eldest Stefano is doing very well at his Scientific Highschool and is loving his theoretical physics classes. [Translator’s note: In Italy, high schoolers attend “specialized” high schools, with directed studies towards a given subject matter, such as science, literature, language, farming, or business. The city of Alba even has a well known viticulture and enology high school.]
Next year [as high school freshmen], Edoardo has chosen to attend the agriculture high school and Gabriella has chosen the business and finance high school. I will leave them to choose freely and experiment; if they become interested in the winery, amazing, but it is not required.
What’s most important for me is to recognize that we are the main characters of a journey of which we do not know how long it will last and what destinations are planned. I live in the present with a strong respect for those who came before and for the moral heritage I inherited from them. I hope that our children, as well, develop feelings of appreciation and gratitude. I hope they become attached to our hills and keep their deep roots.
Moving on to yourself, what did you study in school and university?
I studied at the Classic Highschool [a high school focused on the humanities and literature]. After, I studied Science of Education at the University of Turin, focusing on the conservation of cultural artifacts. After graduating, I became a library science professional, working for twenty years in libraries, specializing in children's literature.
Luisa (center), with her brother Guido (right), giving a tour of their cellar and barrel room.
And now, where do you work?
My work destiny has moved me more into the education sector. Today I work for the nearby city of Asti organizing youth programs such as internships, working studies, workplace orientations, etc. It is really only part time, so I have more time to dedicate to the winery and to my family.
Besides reading, do you have any other hobbies you enjoy?
Other than books, I love to garden, hike, travel, films, theater, and visit art exhibits. I especially love paintings.
In the past, you have said you are involved more in the administrative side of the winery and that you are interested in becoming more hands on and learning about the winemaking aspects of the business. Is there something in particular you are working on learning more of?
Yes, with the business I want to be able to oversee the work in both winery and vineyards and to better understand why certain decisions are made. Decisions such as in pruning (why certain sprouts on the vine are kept or trimmed), or racking (how slowly should you let the wine drain in order to maintain the wine’s characteristics). I would like to have more time to get to know our wines, but I also love to host our visitors here in Costigliole d’Asti, in order to tell the story of this place and to explain how the authenticity of this place and our work has been maintained over the years. I have done some courses such as to become “local narrator,” in order to better understand the area and be able to better explain it to guests.
Regarding my responsibilities at the winery, every year I try to improve how we manage the business,with more productive and faster systems. I am also trying to simplify some of the steps in the business to become more independent in the management of the warehouse and the winery. It doesn't seem like it, but behind every thing there is always a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy that slows the process down.
Luisa, in the countryside near the family home.
I would like to better learn and understand aspects of the winemaking, too. Such as when the wine is ready for bottling versus when it still has room to grow and mature. My father was very good at this.
I hope to also start taking some wine tasting classes, too, alongside my ongoing English studies.
Remembering your father, you mentioned his favorite saying was 'Avanti Tutta'. Do you have a favorite saying or motto?
My phrase would be, “Don’t postpone to tomorrow what you can do today.”
How would you like to see Case Corini grow or change in the future?
Our goal remains not to overdo future plans: to not to change the way we work, to always select customers who appreciate our production philosophy. Another goal of ours is to identify and expland in new markets, of course maintaining as much as possible those markets where we are already present.
At the moment, we have started to rennovate the entrance of the current winery, and we are working on an expansion of other spaces in order to facilitate better work. We are integrating a bit of technological innovation that makes other tasks easier for us.
Who knows if it will be a good vintage? Time and patience will tell, and we shouldn’t have fear to try new things!
Previously, you have said your favorite Case Corini wine is the 2011 Barla. What is your favorite wine from another Italy winery?
Luisa, in the Bricco vineyard. The family home can be seen at the top of the hill peeking out through the trees.
It is difficult to choose a particular wine, but surely a wine that surprised me and left a mark on my heart was the Luigi Tecce’s Taurasi.
Taste Case Corini Wines
Luisa’s story shows us the wonderful way that wine can integrate into our lives, no matter when or with what path our lives take. Try Italian wine from Case Corini and see how it takes you back to the vineyards and family wine cellar where Luisa and her family work.
Growing and making classic Piemontese varieties like nebbiolo and barbera, Case Corini’s asti wines are a haven for red wine lovers. Their only exception to this red-all-around is the intriguing Ciabot del Moreto, an orange moscato wine fermented on its skins for a unique profile bursting with apricot and ginger. Turning to the Barbera grape wines, Barbera takes center stage in solo acts like Barla, a complex and rich wine boasting century-old vines, and co-starring roles in blends like Nilda, where it mingles with a small percentage of other indigenous grapes. Adding to the intrigue is Bricco, a fun blend sourced from the vineyard behind the family home, which is barbera with a mishmash of other varietals like Grignolino and Freisa (due to its previous life as Lorenzo Corino’s experimental vineyard). Bringing in nebbiolo to play, just below the Bricco vineyard you will find Achille, the vineyard used to make the eponymous wine as a blend of nebbiolo and barbera. And to round out the full portfolio, contrasting to the barbera single variety Barla, we have the nebbiolo Centin, just as rich in tannins and flavor as Barla is rich in fruit.
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