1865 Conte Vistarino, the first Traditional Method Oltrepò

Count Augusto Giorgi di Vistarino was the first producer who, in the mid-19th century, began to experiment making a Traditional Method sparkling wine in Oltrepò Pavese after importing Pinot Noir vine shoots from France.  

When Count Giorgi di Vistarino decided in the mid-19th century to import some French Pinot Noir vine shoots to Oltrepò he probably could not imagine what the future would hold for the estate that since 1674 linked the name Giorgi di Vistarino with the small village of Rocca de’ Giorgi, situated in Alto (Upper) Oltrepò, a hilly area south of Pavia that proved to be the most suited for winegrowing. His intuition changed the destiny of the family estate giving it a new winemaking direction, one no longer centered on red wines as was the tradition in the area but on a novel wine for the Lombardy hills, one inspired by its more famous French counterparts.

Using the fruits of the first vineyards, in 1865 Count Vistarino – together with his friend Carlo Gancia – produced the first Spumante Secco using the Traditional Method. That date has remained a milestone for the estate, today run by the founder’s great-great-granddaughter Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino, and was chosen as the name for the estate’s showcase sparkling wine. This is a wine inextricably linked with the Pinot Noir of Rocca de Giorgi and has become a paradigm for quality in the area. The estate has some 200 hectares of land of which 120 are vineyards, surrounded the forests and fields, where the Pinot Noir grows in a chalk and clay soil with ample limestone and sand.

In only a few years, Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino has revolutionized the estate focusing on excellence in both the vineyard and the winery, mapping the vineyards to pinpoint plots that have specific vocations and identifying the best cru, gradually replanting them when and where necessary with new clones and boosting vineyard density. Pinot Noir is not an easy grape and demands attention and time and for this reason, as Ottavia Giorgio di Vistarino like to underscore, great tenacity was needed to push forward a project aimed at quality that today has allowed for the production of a Traditional Method bubbly that sits on the lees for 60 months and has a precision and elegance unusual for the area. Up until a dozen or so years ago, this area was almost entirely focused on producing quantity and bulk wine and only recently, thanks to determined and passionate producers like Ottavia, it has been experiencing an authentic renaissance.

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