Italian Pinot Noir

While Pinot Noir is certainly not indigenous to Italy, it grows with intriguing success throughout the cooler, high-altitude regions of the north, occupying approximately 8,000 acres in total. Elegant, food-friendly, dry red wine examples of Pinot Noir (locally called Pinot Nero) can be found from Alto Adige, Friuli, Valle d’Aosta and the Oltrepo Pavese region of Lombardy. In Oltrepo Pavese, it is also sometimes blended with Barbera to good effect. Lombardy’s Franciacorta region grows Pinot Noir, along with Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, to produce stunning examples of sparkling wine made using the traditional method, i.e. the same method used to make Champagne.