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Lombardia
The geographicaly diverse
Lombardy is in the heart of the Po Valley. With the Alps in
the north, the lakes of Garda, Como and Maggiore in the centre and
the Po valley in the south, the region shows a great variety of
produce like Gorgonzola, Taleggio, pork salumi, Bresaola,
rice and polenta, all featuring in a rich and generous cuisine.
Lombardy doesn't produce a large quantity of wine. However, the quality of its output is truly excellent. On some of the world's highest terraced vineyards in the DOCG of the Alpine Valtellina, arduous labour and low yields craft stunning wines out of Nebbiolo. Where viticulture on these steep slopes has been around for hundreds of years, the DOCG of Franciacorta is a newcomer with its delicious sparkling wines produced through the metodo classico. Pinot Nero, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco are the raw materials for its base wines, grown south of Lago d'Iseo were the cooling effect from Lombardy's fourth biggest lake ensures the grapes to ripen slow and evenly. Oltrepo Pavese is the regions biggest producing DOC. Apart from base wines for the sparkling wine industry, its main offerings are still wines crafted from Barbera, Croatino, Pinot Nero, Trebbiano and Riesling, locally known as Renano.