Are you ready to discover yet another amazing Italian wine region? Of course you are! This month, our Italian Food, Wine and Travel Facebook group sampled several wines from Oltrepò Pavese, the largest wine producing area of the Lombardy region in northern Italy.

Frequently called the Oltrepò, this gorgeous area is virtually unknown outside of Italy, which is a shame because the wines are excellent and go splendidly with the whole meal. Scroll down further in this post to check out my fellow writers’ posts.

Similar to most other Italian wine areas, the beautiful and hilly landscape of Oltrepò is covered with vineyards, medieval villages and imposing castles. But unlike those regions you may be familiar with, such as Tuscany or Sicily, the Oltrepò is a less-touristy—some would say more authentic—slice of Italy. Here, the pace of life is slow, the people are friendly, the food is traditional and the delicious wines can easily be tasted by stopping in at the local wineries, known as cantines.

**Oltrepò Pavese is the area filled in with black.** *Image courtesy of tandfonline.com*

Located just 50 miles south of Milan in the Province of Pavia, the Oltrèpo Pavese is bordered by Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Liguria, and takes its name from its geographic location just to the south of Italy’s largest River, the River Po, (oltrepo means beyond the Po).

Most of the region’s vineyards, planted on hills close to the river, benefit from the water’s moderating influence. The Oltrepò vineyards also profit from the winds of another nearby body of water, the Ligurian Sea. Additionally, the nearby Apennine Mountain Range shields the Oltrepò from extreme weather conditions. The region’s soils of mostly clay, limestone and sand also add to the environment’s ability to produce distinctive wines.

The Oltrepò’s 160 wine producers range from very small wineries to large cooperatives. There are also 1,300 growers in the Oltrepo who sell their grapes, but do not bottle their own wine.

The region’s flagship wine is Metodo Classico, a traditional method sparkling wine made predominantly of Pinot Nero (aka Pinot Noir) as either white or rosé. There are also large amounts of Pinot Nero-based still wines—reds, whites and rosés—produced in the Oltrepò.

Bonarda is another popular wine, a red blend of Croatina and other grapes which can vary from dry to sweet and from still to frizzante. Other commonly-grown varieties are Barbera, Riesling, Pinot Bianco, and Pinot Grigio.

FUN FACT: The Oltrepò is the third largest area in the world for Pinot Noir, after Burgundy and Champagne.

Conte Vistarino Winery

According to the winery’s website, Pinot Nero arrived in Italy in 1850, thanks to Count Carlo Giorgi di Vistarino who imported the first vines directly from Burgundy. The Count’s sparkling wines soon began winning awards in both London and Paris, and so began the Conte Vistarino winery. Today it is in the hands of the fourth generation, Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino.

The first sample I tasted, Cascina Pernice 2017, is a red made from Pinot Nero and comes from the heart of the estate. An elegant wine, with a deep ruby red color, its fragrant aromas of violets and dark cherries are grounded by an appealing earthiness. On the palate, this fairly rich wine (for Pinot Noir anyways) leans towards the savory, herbal side (versus fruity), with chalky tannins and a beautifully balanced acidity. It goes well with any type of tomato dish, such as a meaty Bolognese sauce (which I turned into a meaty tomato soup the next day), or even with turkey and bean soup, as my neighbor, who I shared a glass with, enjoyed it.

The other wine I sampled is a unique sweet red sparkling wine called Costiolo Sangue di Giuda 2020, meaning Judas’s blood. Legend has it that Judas, feeling remorseful after selling out Jesus, was resurrected in the Oltrepò where he performed the miracle of healing the local vines that were affected by an illness.

One of the very few Italian sweet dessert wines, it’s low in alcohol, just 7%, and typically a Barbera blend, along with Croatina and sometimes rare native grapes like Ughetta and Rara Uva. With hints of fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries) that linger on the palate, this beautiful to look at, refreshing and lightly sparkling frizzante is a great accompaniment to cheeses, desserts and fruit.

Oltrepò Pavese Discoveries by Italian Food, Wine & Travel Writers
Want to learn more about Oltrepò Pavese? Read posts below from my fellow writers in Facebook’s Italian Food, Wine, Travel group.