Wine-producing in
Oltrepò forms part of an ancient
tradition that dates at least from
the Roman era.
The Latin historian
Pliny the Elder praised the wines
from the hills between Casteggio
(the ancient romanic "Clastidium") and
Retorbido. Oltrepò is currently
one of the largest Wine-producing area in
Italy.
Over the past
ten years, before which
"Quantity" governed wine
production, local winemakers have
focused on quality, perfecting traditional methods and ex perimenting with new ones. Rich in
every sense of the word are the DOC
and table wines, whether still or
sparkling. The most famous reds
include
Bonarda, Barbera,
Buttafuoco, Barbacarlo, Sangue di
Giuda, Pinot Nero
and
Rosso Oltrepò.
Among the white wines
are
Chardonnay,
Cortese, Malvasia, Pinot Grigio
Moscato and Riesling. Sparkling
wines include
Spumante
made using the
traditional
'Classese'
method.
Bonarda
is also mentioned in
different documents dating from the
12th century, but
winemaking started to spread with
the monks, who made wine in the
monastery of Bobbio from the times
of Charlemagne.
