Oltrepò Pavese metodo classico

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Miocene formations comprise five distinct stages and extend over more than 16,000 hectares across the hills and lower mountains of the Oltrepò Pavese.
• The most recent stage of the Miocene is the Messinian, characterised by pale yellow marls with calcareous lenses in a very precise continuity, found in the soils of Montù Beccaria and Rovescala, among other communes.
• The Oligocene has no well-defined boundaries and extends over approximately 13,000 hectares across a broad hillside territory, occurring especially in Rocca de' Giorgi, Montecalvo Versiggia, Ruino, and Varzi.
• The galestro schists and scaly clays of the Eocene extend over approximately 19,000 hectares, covering extensive areas of the upper hillsides of the Oltrepò.
• One lithological unit consists of medium- to coarse-grained crystalline gypsum, which outcrops over very limited surface areas near Garlassola, Mondondone, Corvino San Quirico, Montepezzata, and Cà Bianca.
• The average rainfall distribution shows a peak in November at 143 mm and a minimum in July at 47 mm, while May is the wettest spring month at 121 mm.
• The 0 °C isotherm runs at approximately 800 metres of elevation and may be regarded as the boundary between the hill zone and the properly montane zone.

• The first plantings of Pinot nero were carried out in Rocca de' Giorgi in 1865 by Count Carlo Giorgi di Vistarino.
• In 1907, the SVIC (Società Vinicola Italiana di Casteggio) was founded in Casteggio under the direction of Pietro Riccadonna, considered one of the fathers of modern sparkling-wine production.
• The Oltrepò Pavese Spumante wine, produced by metodo classico, was recognised as a wine type within the Oltrepò Pavese DOC by Presidential Decree of 6 August 1970, and in 2007 was elevated to an independent DOCG.
• The winemaking practices are those traditionally established in the area for white and rosé production using the traditional method of in-bottle refermentation.

• The wines are generally a clear straw colour, while in the rosé style they take on a more or less intense pink hue.
• The bouquet is that characteristic of in-bottle fermentation — delicate, broad, and persistent — while on the palate the wines are savoury, well-structured, fresh, and harmonious, with a fine and persistent mousse.

• In territorial unit IV, the high diurnal temperature ranges produce a particularly fresh wine, with pronounced floral notes in the aromatic profile and a pleasant touch of acidity on the palate.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0958
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepo Pavese