Lombardy

Lombardy, although one of Italy's largest and most populous regions, has only two wine styles of particular note: red Valtellina and sparkling Franciacorta. The majority of its wines are produced under lesser-known DOC titles, or under one of the region's various IGT titles.

A large and geographically complex region, Lombardy is well placed to offer a wide range of wine styles, and is home to five DOCG and 20 DOC titles. The Oltrepo Pavese zone stands out among these as one of the larger, better-known regions, not only for its sparkling Oltrepo Pavese Metodo Classico DOCG, but more recently for its Pinot Grigio, which since 2008 has had its own independent DOC (Oltrepo Pavese Pinot Grigio). Franciacorta, the second of Lombardy's two sparkling DOCG wines, is from the rapidly developing and well-regarded vineyards between Brescia and Lake Iseo.