Surprising Wines of Oltrepò Pavese #ItalianFWT
Oltrepò Pavese Discovery with Italian Food, Wine and Travel
This month, our Italian Food, Wine and Travel writers were treated to wine samples from a lesser known region of Italy, Oltrepò Pavese. Other wines from Lombardia are well known, but Oltrepò Pavese is unfamiliar to most Americans. I had heard of the area but had never tried any of the wines. Scroll down further in this post to link to all the ItalianFWT writers’ posts!
Oltrepò Pavese sits in the far southwest corner of the Lombardia region, just east of Piemonte and just northwest of Emilia-Romagna. The area is protected from the Mediterranean to the south by Liguria and the beginning of the Apennine mountains. Finally, the Po river valley dominates the area to the north. Grapes are grown in the foothills of the Apennine mountains. The region produces very nice classic method (metodo classico) sparkling wines, usually based on Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir). Sangue di Giuda (blood of Judas) is a truly unique wine from the region, a sweet red wine.
Disclosure: the wines in this post were provided as samples. No other compensation was involved, all opinions are mine.
Piccolo Bacco dei Quaroni (PBQ) Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico Pinot Nero Rosé Brut Nature DOCG (sample, $23 SRP) 12% abv
Vino Biologico by Az. Agr. Piccolo Bacco dei Quaroni di Tommaso Cavalli
Eye: Pale salmon with fairly large bubbles, active mousse
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of fresh apricots, cantaloupe, peaches, subtle notes of brioche
Mouth: Dry, high acidity, medium minus body, medium alcohol, medium flavor intensity, medium finish. Fruit flavors of cantaloupe, apricots and peaches dominate the palate with addition of a slate-like mineral note, then a slight bitter almond note in the finish.
Observations: An enjoyable classic method sparkling wine. Fruitiness provides the balance, brut nature seems like a good choice. Delicious with our shrimp risotto.
Shrimp Risotto Milanese
It’s hard to beat a glass of sparkling wine while stirring the risotto on a Friday evening. Risotto is an easy but elegant dish and well worth your time. Here’s a link to the Shrimp Risotto Milanese recipe I use. Risotto is a fun dish to master as it is very accommodating to all sorts of variations. Our PBQ Methodo Classico Oltrepò Pavese
Giorgi Sangue di Giuda del l’Oltrepò Pavese DOC Vino Frizzante Dolce 2020 (sample, $13 SRP available online here) 7% abv
Eye: Pale ruby, light mousse on pouring, dissipates quickly
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of fresh ripe strawberries, cranberries, cherries, a little forest floor behind the fruit
Mouth: Medium-sweet, high acidity, medium body, low alcohol, medium plus flavor intensity, nice medium plus finish.
Observations: What a fun wine! Sweet, but not cloyingly so. Not overly complicated, but plenty of bright fruit with good acidity. Delicious as either an apéritif or with a fruity dessert.
Oltrepò Pavese Discoveries by Italian Food, Wine & Travel Writers
Want to learn more about Oltrepò Pavese? Read our posts below, then join our conversation on Twitter. We meet on Saturday Feb. 5 from 10-11am CST at #ItalianFWT. We’d love to hear your thoughts
- Payal of Keep the Peas shares Just Now Discovering Oltrepò Pavese.
- Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla adds Second Pours of Oltrepò Pavese Wines with BraisedShort Ribs and Puff Pastry.
- Linda from My Full Wine Glass brings Flying Under the Radar with an Oltrepò Pavese Sparkling Rosé.
- Terri from Our Good Life dishes about Stone Crabs with Oltrepò Pavese.
- Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog showcases A Taste Of The Unsung Wines of Oltrepò Pavese.
- Deanna from Wineivore posts Wine for the Priest! from Oltrepo Pavese, Italy.
- Jeff from Food Wine Click! waxes about the Surprising Wines of Oltrepò Pavese.
- Rupal from Syrah Queen posts Oltrepò Pavese Wines -One of Italy’s Best Kept Secret.
- Gwendolyn from Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley showcases 2 Pinot Nero from Oltrepò Pavese with Polenta, Taleggio.
- David from Cooking Chat reflects on Tasting and Pairing with Oltrepo’ PaveseWines.
- Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm checks out Cheesy Vegetable Lasagna paired with Oltrepo Pavese Wine.
- Liz from What’s In that Bottle suggests we Check Out ‘the Other Side of the Pó’ for Tasty Italian Wines.
- Jennifer from Vino Travels adds Pinot Nero in Abundance in the Oltrepò Pavese.
- Lisa from The Wine Chef writes Off The Beaten Path: Oltrepò Pavese, A Wine Region to Know About.
- Susannah from Avvinare writes about Wine Treasures To Be Found in Oltrepò Pavese.
For Additional Background on Otrepò Pavese
- Consorzio Otrepò Pavese
- Piccolo Bacco dei Quaroni
- Susannah’s excellent post explaining everything about the Oltrepò Pavese region
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foodwineclick 
As always Jeff, your dish looks fantastic! I’ll bet it went well with the Metedo Classico too!!
Thanks Lisa. Bubbles and risotto are regular partners at our house!
I would bet that this was a super pairing and the risotto looks amazing.
Thanks Wendy! I love making risotto.
These wines were such a surprise for us, too. First, I had never heard of the area and, second, my husband helped himself to second pours of both wines. That NEVER happens. Your risotto looks amazing. I think I figured out what we’re having for dinner tonight. Cin cin.
Thanks Camilla. Wow, a second pour. That’s a rare occurrence at our house, too. Not me of course!
That risotto looks AMAZING! And with sparkling – genius!
I’m going to keep working on it until I get a Liz remark of either “amazeballs” or “amazalicious”, then I’ll know I’ve arrived!
Jeff, Your post was very informative and the pairing seemed spot on. RIsotto is such an elegant dish and I think perfect with these wines. That sparkler sounds divine and Sangue di Giuda is an excellent example of a sweet but not cloying low alcohol sweet wine. Cheers, Susannah
Thanks Susannah, and thanks for providing the samples! We don’t see these wines in the Twin Cities (maybe soon!).
As I mentioned during the chat, I’m definitely going to try the referenced Shrimp Risotto recipe…and I might give it a go with some bubbles too!
Thanks Martin. Please give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Took me half a lifetime to work up the courage to cook risotto and now it’s one of my favorite dishes to prepare. Yours looks amazing- especially with the Oltrepo bubbly.
Thanks Linda. I love that it’s a dish based on simple ingredients and can be taken in a million directions.
This looks like something my husband would want to try. He loves shrimp and peas, but the whole dish together sounds just amazing. I loved my bubbly, I can’t wait to have more.
Such a fan of your risotto and bubbles pairing! And your shrimp risotto looks perfectly creamy. If, like the one I got, your wine had a whisper of salinity, then the shrimp would have been stellar with it!
That shrimp looks scrumptious Jeff. A couple different sparkling wines it seems. It’s fun having something on the sweeter, frizzante side to top off the meal.
Your shrimp dish looks scrumptious. Two different types of sparklers. Fun!
This is really a great and succulent collection. Thanks for sharing