Lombardia (wine)
Encyclopedia
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
produced in the Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
region of north central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
s made in the Franciacorta
Franciacorta (wine)
Franciacorta is a sparkling wine from Lombardy with DOCG status produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the territory of Franciacorta, on the hills of a series of townships to the south of Lake Iseo in the Province of Brescia. It was awarded DOC status in 1967, the designation then...
and Oltrepò Pavese
Oltrepò Pavese
The Oltrepò Pavese is the area of the Province of Pavia, in the north-west Italian region of Lombardy, which lies to the south of the river Po. Extending over an area of c...
areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
wines made from a variety of local and international grapes including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...
region, Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...
. The wine region currently has 15 Denominazione di origine controllata
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...
(DOC), 3 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and 13 Indicazione Geografica Tipica
Indicazione geografica tipica
Indicazione geografica tipica is the second of four classifications of wine recognized by the government of Italy. Created to recognize the unusually high quality of the class of wines known as Super Tuscans, IGT wines are labeled with the locality of their creation, but do not meet the...
(IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
and Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
. The region annually produces over 28 million gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
s (1.1 million hectolitres) of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
, Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
.
History
The winemaking tradition of Lombardy dates back to its settlement by GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
s from Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
along the Po river. Archaeological evidence suggest that these settlers traded wine with the Etruscans in nearby Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. In the late 19th century, the Italian wine writer C.B. Cerletti wrote a book for the French market that described the wines of Italy. Of the wines of Lombardy, he noted that the Valtellina were still being made in a Greek style
Greek wine
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago where wine was produced on a household or communal basis. In ancient times, as trade in wine became extensive, it was transported from end to end of the...
and the wines of Oltrepò Pavese were the preferred wines of the Milanese.
Climate and geography
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
of the land. These include the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
located in the northern parts of the region near the wine producing area of Valtellina and the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
which runs along the Oltrepò Pavese (whose name means "Pavia across the Po") and forms most of the region's southern border with Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
. Many wine areas are located near some of Lombardy's major lakes including Franciacorta near Lake Iseo
Lake Iseo
Lake Iseo or Lago d'Iseo or Sebino is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio river.It is in the north of the country in the Val Camonica area, near the cities of Brescia and Bergamo. The lake is almost equally divided between the Provinces of Bergamo and Brescia...
as well as the Garda Bresciano and Garda Mantovano regions near Lake Garda. To the west of Lombardy is the Piedmont wine region, to the south is Emilia-Romagna and to the east are the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto wine regions.
Wine regions
- Valtellina-Located along the Adda RiverAdda RiverThe Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
in the Alps - Garda Bresciano-Located along Lake Garda
- Valcelepio- Located around the city of Bergamo
- FranciacortaFranciacortaThe territory of Franciacorta is a section of the Province of Brescia in the Italian Region of Lombardy. Franciacorta extends north from the plain of the river Po to the shores of Lake Iseo, and from the river Oglio on the western border to the town of Cellatica in the east. The geography of...
-Located along Lake Iseo - CellaticaCellatica-Geography:Located at the feet of the Brescian Pre-Alps. It is bounded by other communes of Brescia, Collebeato and Gussago. It is located in an area traditionally known for the production of wines....
- Located near Franciacorta in the province of BresciaProvince of BresciaThe Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and Trentino .Source for statistical... - BotticinoBotticinoBotticino is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. The comune was created in 1928 by the union of the former comuni of Botticino Mattina and Botticino Sera which today, together with San Gallo, are classified as the municipality’s three frazioni.It is bounded by the...
-Located east of Brescia - Capriano del ColleCapriano del ColleCapriano del Colle is a comune in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is bounded by other communes of Flero, Poncarale, Castel Mella and Dello. It is situated on the eastern slopes of Monte Netto, famous for the production of Clinto....
-Located southwest of Brescia - San Martino della Battaglia- Located along Lake Garda south of Garda Bresciano
- Lugana-Located along Lake Garda southeast of San Martino della Battaglia
- Garda Mantovano-Located along Lake Garda in the province of MantuaProvince of MantuaThe Province of Mantua is a province in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua.-Communes:It includes 70 comuni , ranging in area from Viadana, with 102.19 km², to Mariana Mantovana, with 8.81 km²....
- San Colombano al LambroSan Colombano al LambroSan Colombano al Lambro is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km southeast of Milan. It is an exclave of the province, completely surrounded by territory of the Province of Lodi or the Province of Pavia...
-Located in the province of MilanProvince of MilanThe Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...
along the border with the province of PaviaProvince of PaviaThe Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,753... - Lambrusco Mantovano-Located in the province of Mantua along the border with Emilia-Romagna. Produces LambruscoLambruscoLambrusco is the name of both a red wine grape and an Italian wine made principally from the grape. The grapes and the wine originate from four zones in Emilia-Romagna and one in Lombardy, principally around the central provinces of Modena, Parma, Reggio nell'Emilia, and Mantua...
wine. - Oltrepò Pavese-Located in that part of the Province of PaviaProvince of PaviaThe Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,753...
which lies to the south of the river Po and is bordered by the Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont regions
Valtellina
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
s around 2,500 feet. For most of its history, the Valtellina region's primary market was Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to the north. In recent times it has garnered international attention for being the only major Italian region to focus on the Nebbiolo grape, locally known as Chiavennasca, outside of the Piedmont region.
The vineyards of the region are located on the south-facing slopes along the Adda river. The nearby mountain peaks provide protection from cold, harsh winds and help to trap heat in the valley. The stony vineyard soil also retains heat and releases it during the night to warm the vines. This creates an optimum situation which allows the Nebbiolo grape to fully develop its flavors during the long growing season it needs. The steep location of the vineyards makes mechanical harvesting difficult so most vineyards are tended by hand which increases the cost and limits production. Heavy winter rainfall poses the hazards of landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
s and soil erosion.
The red wines of the Valtellina regions are typically light to medium bodied. The Nebbiolos are noticeably less tannic and acidic than their Piedmont counterparts. The Valtellina DOC includes the basic level wines while the Valtellina Superiore DOCG include wines from the more premium locations and must be aged a minimum of two years. The Valtellina Superiore Riserva are reserve-style
Reserve wine
Reserve wine is a term given to a specific wine to imply that is of a higher quality than usual, or a wine that has been aged before being sold, or both. Traditionally winemakers would "reserve" some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term.In some countries the use of...
wines that must be aged for at least four years. Valtellina also produces an Amarone
Amarone
Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone, is a typically rich Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina , Rondinella and Molinara varieties. The wine was awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in December 1990...
-style DOCG wine known as Sforzato (or Sfursat, Sfurzat as alternate dialect names) made from dried grapes with a minimum alcohol content of 14.5%.
Oltrepò Pavese
Oltrepò Pavese
The Oltrepò Pavese is the area of the Province of Pavia, in the north-west Italian region of Lombardy, which lies to the south of the river Po. Extending over an area of c...
region is responsible for more the half of all wine produced in the Lombardy region as well as two-thirds of its DOC-designated wines. This region along the Po Valley was once a part of the Piedmont but has always had Milan as its primary market. Today it still provides many of Piedmont's sparkling wine producers with its Pinot Nero (Pinot noir) grapes. In addition to sparkling wines, the Oltrepò Pavese also produces still red wines from the Pinot Nero, Barbera
Barbera
Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy . It produces good yields and is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid...
, Croatina
Croatina
Croatina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy and in the Province of Piacenza within Emilia Romagna, but also in parts of Piedmont and the Veneto. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hills of Piacenza, in Cisterna d’Asti and San Damiano...
, Uva Rara and Vespolina
Vespolina
Vespolina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted in Piedmont around Gattinara. Ampelographer believe that the grape is most likely indigenous to this area of Piedmont and recent DNA profiling identified a parent-offspring relationship with Nebbiolo. Outside of Piedmont, it is found in...
. There are some small plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
that are starting to appear as varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
wines. The white wines of the region are made from Riesling Italico (Welschriesling), Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
(Riesling Renano), Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Cortese
Cortese
Cortese is a white Italian wine grape variety predominantly grown in the southeastern regions of Piedmont in the provinces of Alessandria and Asti. It is the primary grape of the Denominazione di origine controllata wines of Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato and Colli Tortonesi as well as the...
, Malvasia
Malvasia
Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
, Moscato, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
. The Pinot Nero grape is also vinified as a white, non-sparkling wine in addition to being made as a standard red wine.
The sparkling wines of the region are made in several styles. The wines labeled metodo classico are made according to the méthode champenoise of the Champagne region. The wines are composed primarily of Pinot Nero with up to a 30% blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. Slightly sparkling frizzante styles are made from several of the region's red and white wine grapes including the dry Buttafuoco style and the semi-sweet Sangue di Giuda (meaning Judas' blood) both made from the Croatina grape, known locally as Bonarda
Bonarda
Bonarda is a name applied to several different grape varieties used to make red wine:* Charbono of California is widely grown in Argentina as Bonarda. It originates in Savoie, where it is known as Corbeau or Douce Noir , but is not the same as Piedmont's Dolcetto...
. The Moscato grape is also made into a frizzante style as well as liquoroso fortified wine
Fortified wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...
and passito dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
.
Franciacorta
The sparkling wines of this area are composed primarily of the Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco grape with a maximum 15% of Pinot Nero allowed. The area has a Crémant style wine, known under the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed name Satèn, that has less carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
than the standard sparkling wine but is more "bubbly" than a frizzante. This wine is not allowed to have any Pinot Nero in the blend. The rosé sparklers are required to have a minimum 15% Pinot Nero. The vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
-dated wines are required to have a minimum of 85% grapes from the indicated vintage and must be aged for at least 30 months prior to release. Non-vintage wines must be aged for at least 18 months. The Franciacorta sparklers are often a little sweeter
Sweetness of wine
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...
than Champagne with the brut style having up to 20 grams per liter
Litér
- External links :*...
of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
while brut Champagne can have no more than 15 grams.
While sparkling wine production accounts for more than half of the Franciacorta area's production, many producers have begun focusing on make red Bordeaux-style
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
blends and Burgundian
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
style Chardonnays aged in oak. Despite the frequent use of Pinot Nero in the sparkling wines, a still Burgundian-style red Pinot Nero is not permitted under the Terre di Franciacorta DOC.
Other wines and grapes
The wine regions along Lake Garda are known for their Chiaretto style rosé wine made from a blend of Barbera, GropelloGropello
Gropello is a red Italian wine grape variety planted primarily in the Lombardy region....
, Marzemino
Marzemino
Marzemino is a red Italian wine grape that is primarily grown around Isera, south of Trentino. The wine is most noted for its mention in the opera Don Giovanni of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . The vine ripens late and is susceptible to many grape diseases including oidium...
and Sangiovese
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
. This dry wine is deeper in color than most rosés and typically has good acidity with very low alcohol levels. The Rosso (red) style wines are made with the same blend of grapes but in a darker, more full-bodied style. Varietal styles of Gropello are rich and tannic wines. The Lugana white wines are made from the Trebbiano grape and are known for their fruitiness and medium body. White wines from the San Martino della Battaglia are made from the Tocai Friuliano grape, which is best known for its use in the nearby Vento region. The Garda Mantovano white wines are based on Trebbiano and Garganega
Garganega
Garganega is a variety of white Italian wine grape widely grown in the Veneto region of North East Italy, particularly in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It is Italy's 6th most widely planted white grape...
and its red wines are made from Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
and Molinara
Molinara (grape)
Molinara is a red Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Veneto region of north eastern Italy. It adds acidity to the blends Valpolicella and Bardolino made with Corvina and Rondinella. The wine's high propensity for oxidation, coupled with its low color extract, has caused a decline in favor...
. Other Lombardy region wines include the sweet Moscato Passito from Valcalepio and the light red wines from the Schiava and Barbera grapes in the Cellatica and Botticino region.