Gathering around the wine table at Conte Vistarino, Tenuta di Rocca De' Giorgi brought us together to discover what is so special about this winery. It would be our last winery stop as guests of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese, Pavia Province, Lombardy. We had come to discover Oltrepò Pavese's wines. Each winery we visited offered something unique, and this was certainly the case with Conte Vistarino winery. This is a winery that not only sets high benchmarks for its wines but it is also well on the way to achieving them.
Welcome to Conte Vistarino
We arrived at Conte Vistarino, Tenuta di Rocca De' Giorgi just before day's end. Upon arrival we were greeted by the winery team.
Soon we were taking a quick tour of this modern state of the art winery.
The winery is quipped with cutting-edge equipment and high-tech machinery. The gravity-flow winery design allows for high-quality wines to be produced. Here innovative winemaking best showcases the purity of the grapes. While it was impressive to tour this modern state-of-the-art winery however, what I appreciated knowing was the care they put into making their wines.
Barrel Room, Conte Vistarino © SpaswinefoodAfter the tour we headed to the tasting room.
Tasting Room, Conte Vistarino © Spaswinefood
Later we were gathered around the tasting room table ready to explore their wines
The Giorgi di Vistarino Family, since the mid-15th century has owned a large agricultural estate in the Rocca de’ Giorgi municipality of Oltrepò Pavese. Throughout the estate’s history the link between viticulture and terroir has been maintained, and as well they focused on preserving the landscape and wildlife. In 1850, Count Augusto Giorgi was the first person to plant Pinot Noir in the Oltrepò, later giving rise to Oltrepò Pavese’s great sparkling wine tradition. From the beginning to the current generation, Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino, the wine estate's vision remains the same: to better interpret the noble grape variety (Pinot Noir) by pursuing the highest quality while respecting the territory and its vocation.
This is a large estate of hectares, with hectares under vine. During our visit I viewed a model of the vineyards.
In the 1990s Ottavia's father, Carlo Giorgi di Vistarino, introduced new Pinot Nero rootstocks and clones. These were carefully selected for red wine vinification, and precise production characteristics. During the last 25 years, after careful evaluation of the individual plots, more than half of the vineyards have been replanted. Major changes in both the vineyard and winery has resulted in the production of high quality wines.
Wine Tasting at Conte Vistarino
We were first introduced to their sparkling wines.
Conte Vistarino, Saignée della Rocca in the Glass © Spaswinefood
Conte Vistarino, Saignée della Rocca, Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico Pinot Nero DOCG Extra Brut
Conte Vistarino, Pinot Nero 1865 Pas Dosè
These were amazing sparkling wines. Not only are bubbles enticing but so are these wines.
Conte Vistarino, Ries Riesling IGT 2017
Oltrepò Pavese Riesling is getting attention on the world wine stage. Since I did taste only one Conte Vistarino Ries Riesling I need further research this ongoing project.
After the sparkling wines and riesling we were introduced to their Pinot Nero wines. In 2009 Vistarino began a Pinot Noir crus project. The first was Pernice (2010), followed by Bertone and Tavernetto (since 2013), which today is part of the Conte Vistarino collection, in addition to their prestigious sparkling wine production.
Pinot Nero Della’ Oltrepò Pavese DOC
We began with a 2020 Pinot Nero.
This was followed by three 2018 Conte Vistarino, Tenuta di Rocca De' Giorgi Pinot Nero wines, from three different vineyards.
Conte Vistarino, Bertone Pinot Nero 2018
Conte Vistarino, Tavernetto Pinot Nero 2018
Tavernetto Pinot Nero 2018 © SpaswinefoodConte Vistarino, Pernice Pinot Nero 2018
These three vineyards (Bertone, Tavernetto and Pernice) are small plots on different sides of the valley, between 350-400 meters above sea level. Pernice vineyard faces south-southeast, while Bertone and Tavernetto vineyards face south-southwest. Their soils are not homogeneous. They have a calcareous-clay base, with a variable percentage of sand and silt. Clearly, this winery produces top tier Pinot Nero still wines. These three 2018 Pinot Nero wines, from three different vineyards, which we tasted at Conte Vistarino, Tenuta di Rocca De' Giorgi were fabulous.
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