One might think that in Lombardy, the leading region of the Italian economy, viticulture is of secondary importance.
On the contrary, on the hills of Oltrepò Pavese and Brescia, on the rugged Valtellina plains and in other areas scattered throughout the region, the vine has thrived since ancient times. In 2009 about 1,227,000 hl of wine were produced, diversified by color and type, represented 70% by red wines.
Diamond tips of the Lombard production are the DOCG sparkling wines of Franciacorta, elaborated with the refermentation in the bottle of base wines obtained mainly from chardonnay, and those of DOCG Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico, based on Pinot Noir, a vine that also gives excellent results in this area Red wines.
The Oltrepò Pavese is distinguished by a very wide ampelographic base, in which you can meet chardonnay, italic riesling and pinot grigio, white muscat and malvasia, all white, even if the most characteristic vines are reds barbera and croatina, often processed in nice sparkling versions with a delicate nuance.
In addition to Franciacorta, in the province of Brescia there are interesting still red and white wines in the Curtefranca DOC; elaborated above all from international vines, as well as reds based on groppello in the Garda Bresciano area.
Further north, in Valtellina, nebbiolo, here called chiavennasca, which finds an environment suited to its needs even beyond the borders of Piedmont, here, in fact, gives wines with excellent structure and good longevity, especially in DOCG Valtellina Superiore and Sforzato of Valtellina, the latter obtained with a partial drying of the grapes.