A grape which is most renowned for producing Italy's most expensive dry white wine, Gavi di Gavi. Cortese is a native grape variety of Alessandria in Piedmont and tends to perform best in the hills between Novi and Tortona in Piedmont. The grape has been so successful in Gavi (which is located in the south of Piedmont close to Liguria) that it is known there as Cortese di Gavi.

It typically produces wines that are pale lemon-white in colour, possess a fine fragrance and are steely and dry on the palate. The best examples can develop an intense honeyed richness with medium term ageing.