The Metropolitan Vineyard
| ||||||||||||||
These places have deep historic and cultural roots that reach back hundreds of years to feudal civilizations. Wine has been produced since time immemorial, when the names were first given to the grapes and cultivated, out of love for the fruits of the earth and fed by the sweat of the local agricultural workers. Moradella, Balsamica, Moscatella, Verdea, vines that predate the phylloxera epidemic of the early 1900s, vines that have now been abandoned, or close to it, to give space to more modern and productive vines, such as Riesling Italico, Riesling Renano, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.| A Wine for Every Occasion | |
| The San Colombano al Lambro Rosso DOC can be produced to be drunk young, in which case it would be fresh and winy, with tannins more or less pronounced, fragrance of marasca (bitter cherry), blackberry and floral notes of violet and wild rose. It pairs with simple recipes from the local traditional cuisine, hors d'oeuvres, salami, cotechino (kind of sausage) with lentils, risotto with frog and risotto Milanese-style. If the wine has the definition Riserva, which means that it is made to endure some aging, it will be more austere and structured, with spicy notes. The Riserva type is a perfect pair for more complex recipes, such as the ossobuco (beef meat with bone) Milanese-style, ravioli (stuffed pasta) with duck sauce, and stewed game. |
|
 |
|
These days are witnessing the progressive abandon of areas that are less suitable for grape growing, and moving toward a less intensive viticulture more focused on quality, following the DOC wine market request. Yield per acre is down and many small, family-run businesses, with members that are just part time vintners out of love for the product, are finding themselves more and more in need of cooperating with larger estates, in order to keep up with the current pace of re-evaluation of the local vitivinicolture. The larger estates have the needed equipment and means to produce modern wines and market the final products, in a struggle to promote the whole local production, economic growth and increased competitiveness of the whole local enology, improving the links between products and traditions, quality and typical characteristics of the wines.
| The 'Bassa' (Lower Padana Plain) and its local products | |
| The 'Bassa Padana' – that is the Padana Plain south of the fontanili, or natural springs that generate the web of irrigation canals that expand the whole flatland – has always been, and still is, a rich, fertile agricultural area that provides traditional, ancient-flavored products. In addition to the most widely known DOP cheeses, such as the Grana Padano (similar to Parmesan cheese, but produced in a wider controlled area), the Provolone Valpadana, Taleggio, Quartirolo Lombardo and the Gorgonzola, there are rare delicacies such as the Granone Lodigiano, a dark-rind cheese that ages for as long as four years; the fresh, sweet Mascarpone cheese, made exclusively with the cream of cow milk in the Lodi and Abbiategrasso areas; and, finally, the Pannerone, a soft, unsalted cheese aged for short time and typical of the province of Lodi and the southern part of Milan. Another local specialty is the salame Milano, a large kind of sausage seasoned with spices, white wine and garlic made in the municipalities of San Colombano and Codogno. The town of Belgioioso is widely known for the local amaretti (almond biscotti). The traditional tortionata almond cake is typical of Lodi, as is the case with focaccia unta (greasy bun), known locally as Chissöla oonta (in local dialect) . To complete the picture, following are the local typical agricultural products: cereals, famous rice varieties such as Arborio, Volano, Vialone Nano, Roma, Baldo, Carnaroli and Sant’Andrea; various fruits, among which cherries and figs. |
|
|
|
Currently over 50% of the grape production is used to make DOC and IGT wines, for a total of about 2.75 tons of grapes yearly. In fact, in addition to the DOC San Colombano al Lambro, in 1995 IGT Collina del Milanese (Milan area hills) which, as opposed to what happens in other parts of Italy, does not represent a 'degraded' appellation, but rather aims to promote single vineyard wines and the local Spumanti (Champagne-like, sparkling wines), produced either according to the traditional or the Charmat methods, in addition to other special types of wines, such as some interesting sweet Passiti (dessert wines) made with Malvasia grapes. In 1987 the Consorzio Volontario di Tutela Vini DOC San Colombano al Lambro (Consortium of the Volunteer for the San Colombano al Lambro DOC Wines), whose headquarters is the Belgioioso (Beautiful and Happy) Castle of San Colombano. The main goal of the consortium is to improve the image of the DOC and the IGT, through promotion and quality control of the wines produced by the associates, both at administrative as well as a chemical / organoleptic level.
After the wines have chemical and organoleptic tests made by the tasting commission of the Chamber of Commerce, which is mandatory for all the DOC San Colombano wines, the producers associated with the consortium may apply for the certifying logo – featuring a stylized image of St. Colombano with a grape – which is given after the wines have cleared another test by the tasting commission of the consortium. Thus, the certifying logo is tantamount to a double guarantee of quality, and that the wines are genuine and typical of the area. Though it still not widely known, the certification is already the unquestioned symbol of the willingness of an ancient rural community, seriously intent in finding its own wine identity, freeing itself from the long hegemonic shadow of the nearby DOC Oltrepò Pavese, which produces much more wine in a similar environment.
| Translated from Italian by WineCountry.IT |
|
Home • General Index • Contact Us • Search • News • About Us • Site Map |
