The most famous local wine, the Bonarda is fruity but not sweet, in contrast to the Lambrusco, for example. Reds and whites sparkle without being just sweet. In 2015 the spumante bubbling wine of the Tenuta Mazzolino wine house was chosen to be the best of the whole of Italy.Īlso particular of the area are the normal sparkling wines, the vivace, frizzante wines. This may gradually change though, as the last decade a lot of young, new wine farmers have decided to concentrate on higher quality instead of quantity. Unfortunately (or not?) the wine farmers here have never been good at marketing their product outside the Milan area, let alone internationally. It is in fact the wine producing area of Milan. Wine, wine, wineĪs mentioned above, the Oltrepò Pavese is one of the largest wine regions of Italy, much larger than the far better known Franciacorta region. Putting your hands in the dough, as the Italians say: mettere le mani in pasta. If you decide to visit and stay, you may even participate in a cooking class with our own favourite mamma, Leda. The Varzi salame is a protected product, like the Parmesan cheese. One thing not to be missed is the typical Sunday pranzo or lunch in which all of the servings of the Italian menu ( antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni, dolci) pass by, sometimes even twice. Using seasonal ingredients like mushrooms and tartufi and the local meats of rabbit, wild boar and the likes, delicious dishes are prepared. Regional dishes are simple but very effective. The food that is served is the food that Italians want to eat, it has to have “ mamma” quality! And prices are ridiculously low. People are enthusiastic to serve you their local traditional food and wine at all of the little family restaurants that populate the area. Small hamlets are almost everywhere so you do not feel lost in a desolate world and on a clear day you’ll have a spectacular view of the Alps – 100 miles further north. Just about everything you tend to expect when thinking of the Italian landscape is within your view. Smooth rolling hills, vineyards as far as the eye can see (always green as the vines lose their foliage only in winter), castles and medieval villages on hilltops. Whether touring with your car, cycling with your bike or just walking/hiking through the vineyards: you will enjoy fantastic views from almost every point. The Oltrepò Pavese still is a truly unspoiled region and you will hardly run across any foreign licence plates here! This is Italy as it is meant to be. Guests that arrive at our B&B often are stressed out from the highly competitive modern working environment and it is a joy to see them more relaxed each day during their stay. Hardly any tourist business has developed here, which means, fortunately, that as the one of the few visitors from abroad, you are encountered with amazement and hospitality everywhere. Most of the wine farmer families have been living here since the Middle Ages. Life still has a slow pace here, as the locals are living the life in more or less the same way their ancestors did: growing wine is a labour that follows the seasons, year after year, generation after generation. The Oltrepò Pavese offer peace and quiet, tranquillity, and the silence (while strolling in the vineyards for example) is often overwhelming. Living in this beautiful region for 9 years now, operating our bed and breakfast Villa I Due Padroni ( I can offer you a list of 7 of the most important reasons to come and visit!ħ Irresistible Reasons to discover the Oltrepò Pavese wine region Peace and quiet The Oltrepò is situated at the foothills of the Ligurian Alps and Apennines. In the south of Pavia province the terrain quickly gains height. The Po river runs through the large plain in the North of Italy, the pianura padana, where the risotto rice is produced. Oltrepò literally means “on the other side of the Po”. The Oltrepò Pavese is part of the province of Pavia, in the southern part of Lombardy. The landscape is scattered with vineyards that are freely accessible for hikers or even mountain biking. The Oltrepò happens to be the largest wine producing area of Lombardy and one of the largest in Italy, especially of the pinot nero (pinot noir) that is very suited for the spumante: bubbling champagne-like wines. The area offers smooth hills, medieval villages and castles, panoramic views, authentic Italian food and local wines. This is a pity as the Oltrepò really offers something worthwhile for almost every tourist, especially food and wine lovers. Tourists pass the area closely when travelling to the real Tuscany, to Umbria or further south. Though frequently called the Tuscany of the North of Italy, the Oltrepò Pavese in Lombardy, only 40 miles south of Milan, is fairly unknown abroad.
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