As the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese introduces a series of sweeping reforms, Louis Thomas examines how this wine region in Lombardy is attempting to valorise its territory.
Speaking with
the drinks business late last year, consorzio director Riccardo Binda explained why he left one of Tuscany's most prestigious wine regions in favour of one which has not enjoyed the best reputation in recent decades.
“I have spent the last 11 years working in Bolgheri for the appellation, and among other things I witnessed this area go from being pretty unknown to having the highest value in Italy – I kept thinking about my own land, Oltrepò Pavese, which was the first place in Italy to produce methode Champenoise wines in 1865. When immigrants arrived in America in the 19th century they would talk about the sparkling wines made from this area! Until the 1980s, probably the most important traditional method sparkling producer in Italy was La Versa in Oltrepò Pavese – they were doing everything that Ferrari Trento does now! Unfortunately, the last 40 years have not been good for this area, many decisions were made which looked appealing in the short term but showed themselves to be bad."
"Bolgheri and Oltrepò Pavese are maybe the two most completely different wine regions in Italy," he added. "Bolgheri is very small, there are very few producers, there is basically just one typology of wine made, Oltrepò Pavese by contrast is a huge area with a lot of producers, a lot of growers, a lot of wine styles."
In January 2020,
a number of arrests were made in the region when it emerged that workers at the Cantina Sociale di Canneto Pavese cooperative had added sugar and prohibited grape varieties production volumes. Oltrepò Pavese has undeniably come a long way in the five years since this wine fraud was uncovered, but there is still quite a way to go.
Binda is a firm believer that Oltrepò Pavese can return to its former glory, but argued that the region must first regain its "identity".
"Imagine Oltrepò Pavese as a huge ship wandering the ocean," he posited, "it keeps burning fuel, but doesn’t know which harbour to go to. We need to turn off the engine, drop the anchor, decide where we want to go, and then set off."
Although Binda's arrival at the consorzio in September 2024 might be seen as what will instigate the transformation of Oltrepò Pavese, he suggested that it was instead a consequence of "something much bigger": "The new presidency and board of directors arrived in February [2024]. For the first time in decades, the consorzio is driven by wineries that follow the whole process, from the vineyard to the bottle, whereas before the direction was steered by people who only followed the last phase of the production. Selling wine in bulk brought wealth in the short term, but meant that vineyards in Oltrepò Pavese had the lowest value of anywhere in Italy – on average, one-seventh of the national average."
That value has increased in recent years, thanks in part to investment from external wine businesses such as
Masi Agricola SpA, which purchased the Casa Re estate in Montecalvo in 2023. The efforts of
Colline e Oltre, a joint project between Intesa Sanpaolo and regional bank Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lombardia, have also been crucial.
The plan
Binda identified two key areas which he wishes to address in his role as consorzio director.
"The first one is to try and be as united as possible – in Bolgheri pretty much everyone is in the consorzio, everyone is following the same direction, the same strategy, which helps to create a unified image on the market," he explained. "In Oltrepò Pavese it’s the opposite. One thing I think we should really do is to try and give this territory an identity, to try to be recognised for one thing, and then the rest can follow."
"The second thing," Binda continued, "is to try and not to be ruled by the way of talking about grape varieties. Oltrepò Pavese has a lot of grape varieties, and though labelling with varieties is a great shortcut to immediately tell the consumer what they are buying, in the long run it is an obstacle to adding value to the wine, because up to a certain point you are selling a variety, which may be grown all over the world – yes, we grow Pinot Nero, but they grow that in Oregon and New Zealand too! So it’s important to focus on the territory because that’s what’s unique, and if you value that over the grape variety, in the long term you will get much better results."
Reform at all levels
The Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese's announcement yesterday (20 February) provided a clear signal of intent, coinciding with the one year anniversary of the arrival of the new board.
One of the key changes has been to select the term 'Classese' for metodo classico sparkling wines – a name chosen in the hope that it will help to clearly set the DOCG-certified traditional method wines of the region apart from its rivals. 93% of those in attendance at the consorzio members' meeting approved the change.
A further change has been the increase in required period of ageing on the lees for vintage sparkling expressions from 24 to 36 months, and at least 48 for Riserva wines.
"I think that you need one thing that lets you be known across the world, in my opinion it should be the sparkling – we have a long history of that, there is nowhere else in the world, other than Champagne, which cultivates so much Pinot Noir for sparkling, and there is not much debate about the quality of the Pinot Noir from Oltrepò Pavese for sparkling, it’s a matter of fact," said Binda back in December. "We have 3,000ha of Pinot Noir, but we produce almost a million of bottles, when it should be 20 million – why is that? Because the production is going outside, and we are losing all the value of the wine to sell it in bulk outside of the region, which is really stupid of course. We could achieve more globally if we bottle the wine here."
"We also have to put value on still wine production, we should not forget that," he added. "In Bordeaux they produce pretty much everything, but in the end when you think of Bordeaux, you think of the blended reds. You just need one thing, but that doesn’t mean you don’t do the rest."
In line with the sparkling wine rebrand, the introduction of Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (Additional Geographical Mentions), or MGAs for short, will permit specific territories to be given greater visibility. MGAs are already used in neighbouring Piemonte within the premium red wine regions of Barolo and Barbaresco.
There will also be something of a power shift among the consorzio's members, as each will now be given a minimum of 10 votes to cast, regardless of size, a measure which should give smaller producers more of a say. However, on the flip side, there will be "perfect proportionality" between scale of production and fees paid to the consorzio and, therefore, votes to be cast at the assembly.
Looking forwards
Although Oltrepò Pavese's history as a wine region is certainly a factor in why the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese believes it has potential for such prestige, and some changes, such as the use of the term 'Classese', are rooted in the past, such a major overhaul is indicative of a forward facing, quality-oriented approach.
Northern Italy is not short of traditional method sparkling wine regions – Alta Langa, Franciacorta and Trentodoc are all vying for the attention of international markets, using the historic name 'Classese' will certainly help Oltrepò Pavese to stand out in a sea of 'metodo classico' wines. Likewise, the arrival of the MGAs may well go some way to educating the wine drinker on the minutiae of the region. Adding layers of complexity can go a long way to aiding the premiumisation the consorzio aspires to.
However, there is still a long way to go. As Binda put it late last year: “A wine map of this territory doesn’t exist yet, which is ridiculous given we have two centuries of history!”
