Oltrepò Pavese, land of Pinot Nero, and home to the new community “Visione Vino” of Teha

Among major unresolved challenges, such as the situation involving the Terre d’Oltrepò cooperative (perhaps at a turning point), there are also projects looking to the future, focusing in particular on the Metodo Classico and the new name “Classese”, Oltrepò Pavese is moving forward, aware of a unique characteristic: with nearly 3,000 hectares planted with Pinot Noir, out of a total of 13,500 hectares of vineyards, it is not only Italy most important area dedicated to this highly successful grape variety, but also the third largest in the world after Burgundy and Champagne. It represents the beating heart of Lombardy viticulture, accounting for over 62% of the region’s wine production. According to Riccardo Binda, director of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese, “despite current difficulties, this is one of Italy’s wine regions with the greatest growth potential. It is the only one based on Pinot Noir for producing Metodo Classico sparkling wine, and although it has the potential for 20 million bottles, today it produces fewer than one million. Moreover, it is a vast territory with significant opportunities for new vineyards and higher-altitude plantings to counter climate change. These two factors allow the region to look to the future with hope despite present challenges”. These reflections emerged during “Vino Visioni Oltrepò”, held yesterday at Palazzo Lombardia, in Milan, the headquarters of the Lombardy Region, during the launch of “Visione Vino”, the community dedicated to the wine sector by Teha-The European House-Ambrosetti, one of Italy most renowned “think tanks”, best known for its Cernobbio Forum. In Oltrepò, in Voghera on October 16th and 17th, the “Visione Vino” forum will present the “Visione Vino Strategic Report 2026” in preview. “The report will delve into the evolution of domestic wine consumption - which sees Italy falling to third place worldwide - and that of international markets, where trade volume dropped by 9.1% compared to 2021, although overall value remained stable. A significant section is devoted to the impact of climate change, which in 2024 recorded Italy highest thermal anomaly ever, +2.72 °C above the historical average, causing 8.5 billion euros in losses in the agricultural sector, with projections exceeding 13 billion euros by 2050. The report will also address wine tourism, increasingly central to enhancing territories, and generational transition, a process still underway in 40% of companies in the sector”.
“It is important for politics to keep attention high on the wine sector. We are going through a complex phase, where opportunities and negative factors intertwine. We must learn to find the best solutions to every problem”, commented Senate vicepresident Gian Marco Centinaio (a man “of the territory”, always attentive to Oltrepò affairs, ed). Regarding declining consumption, Centinaio explained, “we respond by adding more value to the product and experimenting with solutions such as dealcoholized wine; to U.S. tariffs by opening new markets; and to alarming labels with research distinguishing between alcoholism and moderate consumption. Institutions must help businesses along this path, even by creating a “healthy lobby” among producing countries at the European level”.
“We wanted to host this event at Palazzo Lombardia to highlight the centrality of a territory which has always been a winemaking excellence  - declared Elena Lucchini, Lombardy Region Councillor for Family, Social Solidarity, Disability, and Equal Opportunities -  and, which, thanks to a genuine alliance between institutions and the support of a strategic vision, it will be able to intercept new development trajectories. Voghera, my city, will be the protagonist of this event, capable of embracing challenges related to innovation, best practices, human capital enhancement, and increasingly sustainable production”.
Oltrepò Pavese, reiterated Benedetta Brioschi, partner at Teha and Head of Food-Retail, outlining the path of the new “Visione Vino” community ahead of the October forum, “holds untapped potential: despite over 2,800 hectares of Pinot Noir, certified production stops at fewer than one million bottles between Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico Docg and Pinot Nero Doc, a gap which represents one of the main strategic opportunities for the future of the territory and one of the key areas of investigation for the new community”.
Opening a space today for discussion on wine and Oltrepò Pavese, said Tommaso Rossini, president of Assolombarda Pavia office, “means recognizing the value of a territory which is changing and deserves a structured, authoritative, and future-oriented reflection. Wine is not just a production chain but a complex system intertwining identity, enterprise, landscape, culture, and markets”.
Aldo Poli, vicepresident of the Chamber of Commerce of Cremona-Mantua-Pavia, added: “today we are not here to announce an event but to trigger an ambitious project: transforming Oltrepò Pavese into the gravitational center of Italian wine thought. As the Chamber of Commerce of Cremona-Mantua-Pavia, we have bet on this initiative because we are convinced that the time for isolated, short-sighted initiatives and fragmented narratives is over”.
“The choice by The European House - Ambrosetti to develop its first “wine community” starting from Voghera is “smart” logistically speaking, but above all of high symbolic value. It is the gateway to Oltrepò and, at the same time, a natural access point for a national audience. It is the right place to -while remaining in a provincial, local dimension and outside the palaces - bring together the supply chain, businesses, communities, institutions, and markets”, concluded Giovanni Palli, president of the Province of Pavia.