Taste the flavour of Lombardy: the red wines of Valtellina: Sforzato, Valtellina Superiore, Rosso di Valtellina by great Nebbiolo vineyards.

We are lucky to live here in Lecco and in Lombardy due to many reasons, among which there is certainly the wine-growing aspect, and the nearby Valtellina is a very rich land in this sense.
The pair Valtellina-Nebbiolo is indissoluble and unique, and reminds the Langhe as well. Same vine and great wines world-wide famous.

The peculiarity of the vineyards of Valtellina is their terraces, and in fact  there is just the Via dei Terrazzamenti: cycle path that winds for 70 km from Morbegno to A Tirano.
The vineyards, over 850 hectares, are exposed to the south on the Rhaetian slopes and have been excavated in the rocky side and characterized by dry-wallings. An excellent microclimate, which allows the 2,500 km of terraces to offer Nebbiolo grapes becoming great red wines.
This terraced area, which is a candidate to become a Unesco site, is the largest terraced one in Italy.

Valtellina is the land of the great read wines DOCG, DOC e IGT:

• Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG
• Valtellina Superiore DOCG with subareas: Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella
• Rosso di Valtellina DOC
• Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio IGT

Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG

Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG, in dialect called Sfursàt , is the flagship of Valtellina wines.
It is a wine made from raisins , in fact the harvested bunches are placed on gratings in dry and ventilated spaces for about three months.
During this process grapes lose 30-35% of their weight, concentrating the juices and developing particular aromatic fragrances.
After the pressing process the wine is put into barrels for the aging cycle which lasts for 20/22 months, followed by aging in bottles.

Valtellina Superiore DOCG

The Valtellina Superiore DOCG includes five sub-areas: Sassella is the oldest wine and takes its name from the church of Sassella; Grumello is so called because the vines are in the area of the castle of Grumello; Inferno owes its name to the abundance of the vineyards and the high elevated temperatures that occur in summer in the terraces. Then there are Valgella and Maroggia, the last one being recognized as a subarea in 2001.

Articolo aggiornato il 17 March 2020 da eccoLecco