The land

Lombardy sits north of the Po Valley and south of the central Alps, with Milan at its center. The region is geologically diverse — Alpine foothills in the north, glacial moraine in the lake districts, flat alluvial plain in the south — and produces a remarkable diversity of wines from each terroir.

The appellations

Franciacorta DOCG — the prestigious traditional-method sparkling appellation east of Milan, on glacial moraine soils. Valtellina Superiore DOCG and Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG — the alpine Nebbiolo region in the far north, where the grape is locally called Chiavennasca. Lugana DOC — the Trebbiano-di-Lugana-based white from the south shore of Lake Garda. Oltrepò Pavese DOC — the southern Lombardy zone, focused on Pinot Nero (the second-largest Pinot Noir planting in Italy after Trentino-Alto Adige).

Franciacorta

Franciacorta DOCG is Italy’s most prestigious traditional-method sparkling appellation — and the only major Italian sparkling that competes with Champagne on quality terms. The same method (secondary fermentation in bottle, extended lees aging) is used, with the same grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco). Lees aging is minimum 18 months for non-vintage, 30 months for Millesimato (vintage), and 60 months for Riserva — substantially longer than Champagne minimums. Top producers (Ca’ del Bosco, Bellavista, Berlucchi, Mosnel, Ferghettina) make wines that rival anything from Champagne at a meaningful discount.

Valtellina

Valtellina is the great alpine Nebbiolo region — vineyards perched on terraced slopes at 400-900 metres elevation, on south-facing schist soils above the Adda river. The grape is locally called Chiavennasca. Sforzato di Valtellina (also called Sfursat) is the appassimento-dried version, similar to Amarone but from Nebbiolo. Valtellina Superiore is the standard structured red. Top producers: Ar.Pe.Pe., Nino Negri, Sandro Fay, Conti Sertoli Salis.

Vintages to know

For Franciacorta vintage matters less than producer style. For Valtellina: 2019 outstanding, 2016 legendary.

Producers we know

Ca’ del Bosco, Bellavista (both Franciacorta), Ar.Pe.Pe. (Valtellina), Nino Negri (Valtellina), Bisi (Oltrepò Pavese), Conti Sertoli Salis (Valtellina).