Italian Wine Travel Guide 2024 - Find Memorable Wine Tours and Winery Tastings in Italy
Wine regions in Lombardy
Lombardy may not seem like a very familiar name to wine lovers and tourists. However, if you name Milan. Lake Garda or Lake Como, it will immediately ring a bell. This northern region of Italy is economically very significant for Italy. Furthermore, it is the region with the highest population.
The fact that the wine region of Lombardy is also known for a number of exceptional wines is something that less people are aware of. The traditional Lambrusco, the red wines from the Valtellina wine region and the sparkling wines from Franciacorta in particular and -to a slightly lesser extent- Oltrepò Pavese.
Time to discover this wine region.
All the wine regions of Lombardy
Within Lombardy, there are as many as 18 separate wine regions. In a nutshell, these are:
Oltrepò Pavese
Scanzo
Valtellina
Botticino
Capriano del Colle / Montenetto
Casteggio
Cellatica
Garda
Mantovani
Lugana
Riviera del Garda Classico
San Colombano al Lambro (San Colombano)
San Martino della Battaglia
Terre di Colleoni (Colleoni)
Valcalepio
Terre Lariane
Valcamonica
In total, there are 358 Italian wine regions.
The most famous wine regions in Lombardy are
Franciacorta, Valtellina and Oltrepò Pavese. Additionally, the wine regions located on Lake Garda are certainly well known by wine lovers among the numerous tourists who visit this lake in Italy every year. The rosé and white wines from Lugana and Riviera del Garda Classico are very popular.
Wine tourism in Lombardy
In Italy, so called wine consortia for each wine or wine region handle the promotion and production quality standards of their wines. The collective approach and joining forces gives them more power to promote their wine or their wine region. The Lombardy region has a large number of these Consorzia del Vino...
Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta
Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese
Consorzio Volontario Vino DOC San Colombano
Consorzio di Tutela Moscato di Scanzo
Consorzio Vini IGT Terre Lariane
Consorzio Tutela IGT Vini di Valcamonica
Consorzio per la tutela dei vini Botticino DOC
Wine trails across Lombardy
What would be better than experiencing the regional and local wines yourself via itineraries that are composed by the regional winemakers and consortia themselves. In Italy, the so called 'Strada dei Vini...' are local wine routes along wineries with the possibility of tasting their wines at the wineries directly. The trails introduces you to the countryside, the most beautiful landmarks, most delicious spots to dine. But most of all, they are created to get you closer to the wineries of Lombardy and the wines they are very proud to present to you. Wine tastings in the most delightful way.
Below you will find an overview of the official wine trails in Lombardy. Where possible, links have been included to the English versions of the related websites.
- Federazione delle Strade del Vino e Sapori di Lombardia
- Strada dei Sapori delle Valli Varesine
- Strada del Vino Valcalepio e dei Sapori della Bergamasca
- Strada del Vino e dei Sapori della Valtellina
- Strada del Franciacorta
- Strada del Vino Colli dei Longobardi
- Strada dei Vini e dei Sapori del Garda
- Strada dei Vini e Sapori Mantovani
- Strada del Vino e dei Sapori dell’Oltrepò Pavese
- Strada del Vino San Colombano e dei Sapori Lodigiani
Check out all the (there are more than 100...!) official Italian wine trails of the Strada dei Vini d'Italia.
In addition, you can find the necessary information on wine and wine trips on the official tourism website Lombardy and at the website of the Movimento Turismo del Vino Lombardo.
The best known wines from Lombardy
The Lombardia wine region is home to 5 DOCG wines, 13 DOC wines and 16 IGT wines. Check out everything about the wine classification system in Italy.
The most widely used grape varieties in Lombardy are Chiavennasca (also known as Nebbiolo), Barbera, Gropello, Marzemino, Sangiovese, Trebbiano and Garganega.
The top wines from Lombardy
The bubbly and sparkling Franciacorta
The wine region of Lombardy is particularly famous for its Franciacorta, a sparkling wine that, like champagne, is given a second fermentation in bottles. Franciacorta is considered the best sparkling wine in Italy. The value for money compared to Champagne also favours the winemakers from Lombardy. In addition to the sparkling wines (metodo Classico) from Franciacorta, there are also 'bubbles' from Oltrepò Pavese. The grapes used for these wines are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.
The delicious red wines from Valtellina and Oltrepò Pavese
A bit uphill in the area, towards Switzerland on the southern slopes of the Alps, a diversity of well-known and lesser-known grape varieties produce wonderful red wines. Among these, some have already received the highest possible classification and have the DOCG status.
Most famous and appealing are the red wines from Valtellina and Oltrepò Pavese. The Oltrepò Pavese, Sforzato della Valtellina and the Valtellina Superiore carry DOCG status. The highest classification of Italian wine of all. The grape used is the Chiavennasca, better known in neighbouring Piedmont -and worldwide- as the Nebbiolo grape.
Grape varieties in Lombardy
Below you will find a list of all grape varieties cultivated in Lombardy.
Barbera, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Chardonnay, Croatina, Garganega, Groppello, Lambrusco, Marzemino, Merlot, Moscato, Moscato Nero, Nebbiolo, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero, Riesling, Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Uva Rara and the Welschriesling (Riesling Italico).
An overview of all the wines from Lombardy
The vineyards of Lombardy produce the following wines (DOCG, DOC and IGT).
Lombardy DOCG wines
Franciacorta
Moscato di Scanzo
Oltrepò Pavese
Sforzato della Valtellina
Valtellina Superiore
Lombardy DOC wines
Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese
Botticino
Buttafuoco dell’Oltrepò Pavese o Buttafuoco
Capriano del Colle
Casteggio
Cellatica
Curtefranca
Garda
Garda Colli Mantovani
Lambrusco Mantovano
Lugana
Oltrepò Pavese
Pinot Grigio dell’Oltrepò Pavese
Pinot Nero dell’Oltrepò Pavese
Riviera del Garda Bresciano o Garda Bresciano
San Colombano al Lambro o San Colombano
Sangue di Giuda dell’Oltrepò Pavese o Sangue di Giuda
San Martino della Battaglia
Terre del Colleoni o Colleoni
Valcalepio
Valtellina Rosso o Rosso di Valtellina
Valtènesi
Lombardy IGP/IGT wines
Alto Mincio
Benaco Bresciano
Bergamasca
Collina del Milanese
Montenetto di Brescia
Provincia di Mantova
Provincia di Pavia
Quistello
Ronchi di Brescia
Ronchi Varesini
Sabbioneta
Sebino
Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio
Terre Lariane
Valcamonica
Travel information
If you would like to discover the Lombardy wine region and are unable to arrive by car, there are several nearby airports.
- Milan Linate, airport code LIN
- Milan Malpensa, MXP
- Bergamo, BGY
- Verona, VRN (Veneto region)
- Bologna, BLQ (Emilia-Romagna region)
At airports, you can rent a car after the flight. Having a car makes it easy to further explore the region on your own.
Have some fun and enjoy the regio. Please let me know about your wine adventures in Lombardy or suggest new information for this page.
Some photos copyright Consorzio Franciacorta
Avinturo is an Italian wine travel guide, packed with great tips about the many unique wine tastings tours in Italy.
Celebrate with locals at one of their great wine festivals. Visit one of the many famous wine regions. Or discover the countless hidden gems of undiscovered local wine regions with its unknown wines. Made from one of the many autochthonous grape varieties that Italy has.
Let yourself be guided along one of the nearly 100 official wine roads or plan your own winery tasting by visiting one of the thousands of Italian wineries. Be surprised by their hospitality and delicious wines. Discover and enjoy.
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