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The Wines in LombardyAlthough most agricultural areas in Lombardy focus on food production rather than grape growing, and its grapes and wines have a difficult time when compared to the surrounding regions of Piedmont, Veneto, and Trentino, Lombardy is a respectable wine producing area. That said, one could find very good local wine production, centered specifically on six main noble grape variety zones. The Oltrepò Pavese, which means beyond the Po River and translates into an area roughly corresponding to the Pavia province, has a long tradition of excellent wine. Only recently has its wines acquired a well-deserved recognition that goes beyond the national borders. The tradition of selling these modestly priced wines locally in the countryside’s osterie, or taverns, lined along the banks of the Ticino and Po rivers, has led to the lingering false impression that the local production was of lesser quality than wines produced in the neighboring regions.
The Valtellina DOC zone, centered around the province of Sondrio, produces some of the most appreciated regional wines based largely on the local version of Nebbiolo, the Piedmont noble grape known here as Chiavannesca. The Valtellina Superiore DOCs, which are usually differentiated by the area where the grape was grown, are especially good. The province of Brescia, which includes the Franciacorta zone with its rich reds, excellent whites, and outstanding sparkling wines, is the third major wine producing area. There are about 70 wineries within the Franciacorta zone, and some of them, such as the Berlucchi, producers of arguably the best Italian sparkling wines, and the Ca del Bosco, are recognized national leaders in quality and prestige. In addition, there are two more DOC zones, the Cellatica and Botticino, that are closer to the city of Brescia, and other notable wines, such as the Trebbiano di Lugana, are produced on the Brescian shores of the Garda Lake.
The three other main producing areas, though less
noteworthy, create some respectable wines such as the Valcalepio DOC in
the province of Bergamo, the Lambrusco Mantovano, produced around
Mantova near the border with Emilia-Romagna and the tiny zone of San
Colombano al Lambro, in the province of Milan. Text courtesy of www.winecountry.it I Love Italian Wine and Food series - Lombardia Region: an article
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