Storia
San Sebastiano nel Borgo
The estate incorporates the deconsecrated church of San Sebastiano nel Borgo in the historic centre of Serralunga d’Alba. Documents already described the church as “old” in 1550. It was rebuilt in the 17th century over a medieval plan, reversing the original positions of the entrance and altar, and remained Serralunga d’Alba’s parish church until 1888. Restoration took place between 1886 and 1888. The associated buildings subsequently housed the local school until the mid-1950s.
The church has a restrained architectural character rather than the elaborate Baroque style associated with much mid-17th-century religious architecture. Its single nave contains four altars set within deep recesses. Surviving frescoes from different periods depict cherubic musicians, saints, Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden, and members of the Savoy nobility, including Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy. The four-level bell tower was built against the façade of the earlier medieval church. Its stone walls culminate in a pointed mid-17th-century-style spire, and its entrance opens directly from street level.
Acquisition and agricultural transition
In January 2015, the Rossi Cairo family acquired Tenuta Cucco at Serralunga d’Alba as an extension of its wider commitment to sustainable agriculture. The acquisition announcement envisaged bringing the family’s biodynamic approach to the Langhe vineyards. The estate subsequently completed conversion to organic farming and has been certified organic since 2018.
Art and public engagement
On 18 July 2019, the estate’s church hosted the opening of BIOMEGA Multiverso, a site-specific exhibition by Cosimo Veneziano, curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and produced by Fondazione La Raia. The exhibition examined biotechnology, visual culture, neuroscience and consumer behaviour in relation to food and agriculture.
On 7 June 2025, Fondazione La Raia inaugurated Riccardo Previdi’s site-specific installation MOODCLOCK. Four painted wooden panels were placed on the church bell tower, while a fifth panel, titled ZEITGEIST, was installed in a Tenuta Cucco window. The intervention established a visual link among the winery, San Sebastiano’s bell tower and the nearby medieval castle. The church remains part of the estate’s visitor itinerary and can be visited by arrangement.
Terroir
Tenuta Cucco is located in Serralunga d’Alba, in the Langhe of Piedmont, within a landscape of vineyards included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The estate stands in the historic village near San Sebastiano nel Borgo and Serralunga’s brick castle, built around 1350. The castle and its fortified tower form the backdrop to the property, while the local panorama extends toward Monviso.
The Cerrati cru is embedded in this built landscape: its vineyard lies in the centre of the small village. The Church of San Sebastiano and its bell tower are additional landmarks within a setting characterized by the towers of the Langhe.
Vinificazione
The Rossi Cairo family extended its sustainable agricultural programme to the Tenuta Cucco vineyards after acquiring the property in January 2015. Although the initial project was framed in biodynamic terms, the estate’s documented certification is organic: conversion was completed and certification obtained in 2018.
Organic status applies to the agricultural estate and its vineyards. No individual vineyard treatments, soil-management techniques, disease-control protocols, yields, pruning systems, cover-crop practices or harvesting procedures are specified.
Tenuta Cucco produces Nebbiolo and Barolo in Serralunga d’Alba, together with wines under the Langhe, Piemonte and Dolcetto d’Alba denominations. The documented range includes Barolo from Serralunga d’Alba and the named Bricco Voghera and Cerrati sites, as well as Chardonnay, rosato, Barbera, Dolcetto and a traditional-method sparkling wine.
Filosofia
Giorgio Rossi Cairo frames Tenuta Cucco within a family project built around high-quality, sustainable agriculture, the protection of diversity and the preservation of the land for future generations. The 2015 acquisition extended that commitment from Gavi to the Langhe, followed by Tenuta Cucco’s conversion to certified-organic farming.
The estate’s cultural programme broadens this idea of stewardship beyond farming. Projects presented at San Sebastiano nel Borgo use contemporary art to examine the historical and natural landscape, changes in agriculture, biotechnology, consumer behaviour and the relationship between inherited architecture and present-day life.