Picchioni

A Slow Food “Chiocciola” winery and by far one of the most awarded in Oltrepò Pavese, Andrea Picchioni's is one of the most beautiful and healthy wine-producing realities in Lombardy. Meticulous in the vineyard and prudent in the cellar, a purveyor of careful, rigorous and clean choices, Picchioni interprets the Oltrepò with spectacular wines for their adherence to the territory and tradition, for their simplicity that, in the glass, magically turns into a surprising complexity.

Located in Canneto Pavese, the quality heart of the area, the winery is relatively young. Founded in the nineties, it has grown gradually, using the experience of the local winemakers. The conversion to organic, here is certainly not a fad, and Picchioni approaches it with practicality: product quality and protection of the territory go hand in hand.

In the Solinga Valley, one of the most suitable areas in Oltrepò, Picchioni has recovered some of the best “bricchi” (slopes) from abandonment: vineyards located on often impervious and steep, loose and pebbly soils, but which benefit from fantastic exposure. Grapes that are perfectly ripe, therefore, but at the same time sapid, mineral and vertical, therefore of great elegance.

More interested in the Rossist tradition of the Oltrepò than in the more recent sparkling wine trend, Picchioni manages his range consistently and rigorously. And it is no coincidence that the grapes and the typical wines of the territory (those that, with an over-abused expression, we would say "of the grandparents") are his warhorses.

Ipazia, first of all, a typically sparkling Bonarda is, at the same time lively, fresh, fruity, full of personality and structured, dancing wonderfully between acidity, free-range tannin and a very slight sugary residue. From Croatina in purity as the classic, great Bonarda imposes, juicy and crisp. Cerasa, Picchioni's historic cru, is the most typical Buttafuoco, a still version of Bonarda, for instance, made with the classic grapes of the area: Croatina, Barbera and Ughetta. Aged only in cement, it is a fantastic wine for any type of food.

And then there's the Riva Bianca, one of the best Lombard red wines ever. Croatina, Barbera and Ughetta di Val Solinga, from the steeper and more pebbly cru. Aged for at least a year in barrels, it is austere, impetuous of character. But also vibrant, dynamic, at times elegant and caressing. Incredibly and spectacularly long-lived. And yet, at the table, it goes down with unprecedented simplicity, especially with typical Lombardy products.