There’s a new Italian Metodo Classico: from Oltrepò comes the challenge of Classese

“Let us celebrate 160 years of history, but above all lay the foundations for a future built on innovation, recognisability and identity. Oltrepò believes in its Pinot Noir and in the metodo classico: with Classese we want to proudly affirm our vocation and take it ever higher.” Francesca Seralvo, president of the Consorzio Classese Oltrepò Pavese, launches a message and a challenge. Oltrepò wants to emerge from difficult years and regain a prestigious role in the Italian wine scene, especially in sparkling wine production. Franciacorta, Trento DOC and Alta Langa have been warned: they will face a new and determined competitor who will contribute to increasing the offer of Italian metodo classico.

On 21 and 22 September, the village of Golferenzo, in the province of Pavia, was the setting for the fifth edition of Oltrepò: Terra di Pinot Nero, the event that each year promotes the flagship grape variety of this territory. It is not only an occasion to celebrate a historic anniversary: 160 years since the first sparkling bottles in Rocca de’ Giorgi in 1865 by Counts Carlo Gancia and Augusto Giorgi di Vistarino. Above all, it is the first public unveiling of the new production rules that tighten the standards for sparkling winemaking and introduce the name Classese, which marks the birth of the world’s first vinification entirely based on metodo classico from Pinot Noir vinified in white or rosé. For now, pending approval from Rome and Brussels, it is a consortium trademark (previously owned by the district) with usage regulations. But the path has been set.

The new wave of Oltrepò Metodo Classico

“The new production rules of Classese are the result of the work of myself and my colleagues from the wineries Calatroni, Scuropasso and Bruno Verdi, within the sparkling wine committee set up by the consortium. We technicians studied the regulations of Alta Langa, Trento DOC and Franciacorta with the aim of creating extremely strict standards: now we require compulsory harvesting in crates and a 50% pressing yield, which are missing in other sets of rules. The minimum of three months disgorgement is not found in any other disciplinary framework.”
So says Alessio Brandolini, oenologist and owner of the eponymous winery based in San Damiano al Colle (Pavia). He recalls that the idea of Classese was born back in 1984 on the initiative of Monsupello, Monterucco and Travaglino. This time, the goal is ambitious. “We produce a large quantity of sparkling wine, but only 500,000 bottles are released under the DOCG label: within a few years – explains Brandolini – we would like to make a significant leap, also numerically, from VSQ (quality sparkling wine) to DOCG.”

Work on the Classese production rules

Among the protagonists of this new wave is also the Calatroni winery, which last year with the Metodo Classico Poggio dei Duca Pas Dosé 2019 won not only the Tre Bicchieri but also the Bollicina of the Year 2025 award in the Gambero Rosso Wine Guide.
“The new production rules – explains Stefano Calatroni, owner and sales manager of the family winery – are also the result of a group of three oenologists, including my brother Cristian, who after carrying out joint studies at the Politecnico di Milano, made the most of virtuous models learnt during their training years and direct experience accumulated over many years of work in the cellar.”
The result is, precisely, Classese, which “is based on one of the strictest and most advanced production frameworks in all of Europe and also provides for a series of additional mentions to represent the different valleys of production.”

New project: the wineries believe in it

The innovations introduced by the consortium have also encouraged the return of wineries that until now had preferred to remain outside. “The new direction of the consortium has brought a breath of fresh air and a working philosophy suited to our characteristics,” says Fabio Marazzi, owner of Scuropasso, a small winery producing 30,000 bottles a year.
“Finally – he adds – we have a name for our denomination. We believe in Classese and are enthusiastically rejoining the consortium: until now, the only denominated wine in our cellar was Cruasé, now also our other wines are eligible to become DOCG.” Marazzi explains: “I am a visionary and I want to believe in this new project. Then it is up to us wineries to provide the numbers, because it is numbers that build a denomination.”

Renouncing the name Oltrepò

Among those in favour of the consortium’s new path is also Elena Cavallotti of Tenute Cavallotti.
“Yes, we believe in the project. It is true that with the new name we lose the reference to Oltrepò, but ours was a very long denomination, difficult to remember and to explain. Classese is more immediate and direct and in any case combines two important terms: ‘Classico’, which refers to the sparkling wine method, and ‘Pavese’, which is a nod to the territory. It was a mistake to lose this name over time.”
After all, even Barolo does not refer to the name Langhe. The rationale is the same.

The Cruasé precedent

She then enthusiastically explains the new consortium logo, which merges into a single image two glasses, the vine branch and the bubbles typical of the territory. In the past, the consortium had launched the Cruasé project, a trademark used to identify sparkling rosé wine made from Pinot Noir using the metodo classico, but the results were not up to expectations.
“Cruasé is a trademark that concerns only rosé. We believed in it and invested more in the brand than others, who instead focused more on blanc de noirs. Now – continues Elena Cavallotti – I believe that progressively Cruasé will be forgotten: our current challenge is to transform VSQ wines into denominated wines. We will get there: I am convinced.”

A land suited to Pinot Noir

The evolution of the territory is described by Valeria Radici Odero, winegrower and owner of the Frecciarossa winery:
“Our fathers used to buy demijohns from the same producer, our approach to wine was limited. Now it is no longer so. Today our children, the younger generations, study and travel the world.” She too embraces the consortium’s new line:
“We all love this land: we now have a wonderful territorial and consortium project. Our territory has always been suited to Pinot Noir, which thrives here even at 500–600 metres, and with climate change we can go even higher. The overall quality is now very good and with Classese there will be broader awareness of the territory. I hope this will be the right time to gain greater following. Italy drinks a lot of sparkling wine and the market response is there. We are re-entering the radar, but what is needed is a strong and united territory.”

Unity is strength

And it is precisely unity that Alessandro Comi, owner together with his sister Cristina of the historic Travaglino winery based in Calvignano, speaks about.
“We producers have always lamented not working cohesively. Now, for the first time, we are 100 per cent in agreement. This territory must gain the fame it deserves; we have nothing to envy in other territories: we produce 70% of Italian Pinot Noir and can boast 60% of Lombardy’s vineyards. We are in a strategic position: a triangular piece of land to the south-west shaped like a bunch of grapes where the sea, the Apennines and the Po Valley meet. We enjoy a heterogeneous landscape where biodiversity reigns. Once, our grandparents did other jobs, but today the wine families are fully dedicated to production: quality has improved enormously and Classese can help us. There is a lot of work to do, but the unity of all the realities of the territory will be our strength.”