Lombardy, located in northern Italy with 90 UNESCO World Heritage sites, continues to enjoy being one of most populous and richest region with Milan the second largest city after Rome. Always prosperous Milan has a cuisine made for those who can afford expensive ingredients like saffron and foods like osso bucco. Layers of richness are offset by the light, tart grapes of the region. 

Beyond lighter and tarter grapes, Lombardy’s size and diverse geography including alpine lakes, tall peaks, broad lakes, glacial moraines, and broad plains means it lacks one dominant and recognizable grape or style, which makes it harder to fathom for consumers. This month, I am hosting the Italian Food, Wine, and Travel group of wine writers as we explore the diverse terrain and wines of Lombardy, a region that the Wine Media Conference visited in 2022 where I went on excursions into the DOCs of Valtellina in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and Lugana which straddles the border with Veneto.

Read my invite post here to learn more about Lombardy’s long history of winemaking and about the various DOCs, grapes, and wine styles.

And while as much as I am enamored by the Nebbiolo of Valtellina and entranced  by its alpine brightness, I love versatile Lugana, the best of which is predominantly found on the Lombardy side of the line and embracing the shores of Lake Garda.  

Wines

• 2017 Selva Capuzza San Vigilio, Lugana DOC, Lombardia
• 2021 I Frati Cà dei Frati, Lugana DOC, Lombardia

Menu 

• Charcuterie Board 
  Meats: fennel salami, spicy salami, truffled proscuitto, plus salt cured olives
  Soft cheeses: Gorgonzola, plus Monte Trento Tartuffo and pepper flake cheeses 
  Hard Cheeses: Pecorino, Aged Peccorino, Parrano, Parmisano Reggiano
• Pasta
  Sue’s homemade pumpkin ravioli 
• Salad 
  Spiced pecans, spring greens, roasted beets, baked lemon ricotta cheese 

2017 Selva Capuzza San Vigilio, Lugana DOC, Lombardia

ABV: 12.5%
SRP: $20
Grapes: Turbiana (Trebbiano di Lugana)
sample for my review 

I first met Lugana wines at a Wine Media Conference in Oregon via charismatic wine and music producer Luca Formentini. Then Deborah Parker Wong recommended him for my Slow Wine Slow panel at the 2022 Wine Media Conference because he produces great wines as the leader of his family winery Podere Selva Capuzza (fourth generation in the business!), and because of his leadership in environmental protection– he was the first producer awarded as a “green wine maker” by Corriere della Sera in 2021.

In addition, their 13th century farmhouse restaurant at his winery hosted the dinner for the Lugana excursion where we tasted his wines as well as many others from the region. In 1983, Cascina Capuzza became the first agritourism in Lombardy, and seasonal menus feature housemate pastas and local recipes characterized by simplicity. 

Our menu, with Sue’s homemade pumpkin ravioli made with pumpkin she grew the star, reflects their commitment. 

Appearance:  Pale lemon, a bit of green tinge, very clear, sparkles with the light, refracts the light. 

Aroma: Green meadow grasses, chamomile, fennel, daisy, minerality, lemon, lemon meringue pie, lemon bars, white peach, jasmine, white flower, freshness, stoniness, 

Palate: Nice fresh acidity, lemon, rich marzipan on the finish, slick on the palate, distinct mouthfeel, chamomile, meadow grasses, very fresh and vibrant, 

Pairing: Very nice with the cured meats, loves the fennel in one of the sausages and the spices in the other as well as the truffled procuitto, great with the hard cheeses as well as the soft Italian. The Pumpkin ravioli was great with the wine, the wine cuts through the rich butter in the sauce and then there is the herbal quality from the sage that marries perfectly with the wine. Sue stated that she would not usually pair a white wine with a beet salad, but because there is an earthen quality to the wine it matches the earthen quality in the wine. There is a bit of a kick to our nuts in the salad that works nicely with the wine, Often times there is a kick to Italian foods. Very nice with the Italian sausage as well. 

2021 I Frati Cà dei Frati, Lugana DOC, Lombardia

ABV: 13%
SRP: $25
Grapes: Turbiana (Trebbiano di Lugana)
sample for my review gifted at the winery

“We are all family here,” said Stefano Fioranzanto, the Ca’ dei Frati brand manager who married into the family. In 1939, they moved here from Valpolicella. Ca’ is short for casa and means home or house while Frati means brothers, and in this case, monks, because originally monks grew grapes and made wine here. In addition to Lugana wines, in their gravity fed state of the art winery Cà dei Frati makes Amarone which you can read about here and learn more about their winery.

If you like Sauvignon Blanc this wine has many similarities to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Sue felt that it would stump her in a blind tasting competition. 

Appearance:  Very pale straw, platinum rim, very clear,

Aroma: Gooseberry, lemon, green grass, lemon grass, lemon verbena, fresh eucalyptus, very interesting nose, white pepper, white flower, 

Palate: Tart lemon lime, lemon lime phosphate, gooseberry, apricot, bold acidity, zingy, lovely smooth finish, 

Pairing: Very nice with our Spicy Italian cheese and the Tartuffo which both are semi-soft cheeses, the flavors pop with the wine. The pecorino and other hard Italian cheeses went very well with the wine, this is a very easy going food friendly wine. Great with both of our salami loving the meaty richness and fat as well as the spices in the cured meats, This wine was great with the salad, so very satisfying, the balance between the sweet and spicy and earthen is a great experience together with the wine. Great with the sausage loving the fennel and the richness of the meat, so fantastic with the ravioli loving the buttery richness and the sage. 

Join us in Lombardy this month! 

• On Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon you’ll find “Lombardy’s Oltrepò Pavese wines and stories of the women behind them”
• Susannah Gold shares “Mountain Wine from the Valcamonica, A New Discovery” on Avvinare.com
• Camilla Mann says “‘Ci Vediamo Presto!’ with a Franciacorta Sparkler + a Favorite Brinner” on Culinary Cam 
• Robin Bell Renken shares “Moscato di Scanzo and the Pharmacist’s Daughter” on  Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Wendy Klik has “La Pappardella Croatina served with the Pasta for which it is named” on A Day In The Life on the Farm

• Here on Wine Predator, we go “Back to Silence: Otella’s Amphora Wine from Lugana DOC” 

Please note: due to continuing distasteful drama by the new owner of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and with alternatives not yet functionally satisfying, we will not be holding a chat at 8am Saturday Dec. 2 as planned.