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Lombardy’s spumantes and other sparkling wines
The natural beauty of the Lombardy wine region offers blue lakes, high mountains, green countryside, warm sun and excellent vineyards, where plump red grapes ripen and where aristocratic sparkling wines are brimming with delicious fizz. Lombardy’s sparkling wines are famous all over the world, and we cannot fail to mention Oltrepò Pavese DOCG and above all Franciacorta DOCG. Franciacorta, a small winegrowing area in Lombardy in northern Italy, is famous for its high-quality spumante, produced using the Champenoise method.
What are Lombardy’s most famous sparkling wines?
Lombardy’s most renowned and famous sparkling wines come from the vineyards of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese. Lombardy’s spumantes develop all their flavour as a result of second fermentation in the bottle (Metodo Classico). This is why their aromas, fragrances and tones are reminiscent of those of Champagne, and why they can compete on quality with the latter. There are spumantes that predominantly shine straw yellow, while others display an attractive pink hue. Regardless of colour, spumante from Lombardy shimmers wonderfully and leaves a beautiful tingling sensation on the palate. High-quality spumante produced using the Metodo Classico process is something special, and an excellent way to celebrate an important occasion.
Lombardy’s best sparkling wines
In principle, Lombardy has wonderful wine and sparkling wines, with the DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) designations indicating high standards of wine quality. Only Lombardy’s best wines receive these recognitions of quality, and among them we can find their seductive, outstanding spumantes: Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese Spumante Metodo Classico, Oltrepò Pavese Spumante Metodo Classico Pinot Nero. Moreover, Lombardy’s sparkling wines are considered to be of high-quality due to their incredibly diverse growing areas: 41% of the plantings are in the mountains, 47% on the plains, and only 12% on hillside sites.
Which spumante for which pairing?
As with Champagne, Franciacorta wines and other spumantes from Lombardy make an excellent choice for an aperitif with friends. They also go perfectly with a wide variety of foods, including fish dishes, creamy pasta and rice dishes and cured meats. Our common tendency is to limit sparkling wines to celebrations, but a spumante from Lombardy unquestionably has a place also at the dining table. These wines go very well with some main courses, especially Lombard specialties such as risotto and polenta, and of course with all types of desserts.