This month the #ItalianFWT group headed to Lombardy. Our host for the month, Gwendolyn wrote her preview post about the region here. Please check it out. My fellow travels all posted articles below. We are not doing our usual monthly chat on Twitter/X this month. Many of us I see are reminiscing about our 2022 Wine Media Conference trip and writing about wines tasted during that time. I know I am. That trip to Lake Garda was a whirlwind of travel, wines, and conversations. For many there were new discoveries. I consider myself an old hand with Lombard wines having lived there for 10 years, been a wine ambassador for two of the regions for 10 years combined, and having tasted the wines for a very long time. That said, I was thrilled to discover a new area. New to me I mean because the area has been famous for over 2000 years and is renowned for its famous Rock Paintings. The area I am referring to is called the Camonica Valley or the Valle Camonica.

The Area:

This valley is located near Lake Iseo which regulates the temperate in the area and is relatively close to the town of Brescia, famous for its sparkling wine region Franciacorta which has become much more well known in the United States in the last 15-20 years.

Wine growing in the Valle Camonica was actually started by the Etruscans and then followed up by the Romans many years later. The area is named for an even more ancient tribe that settled here called the Cammuni.

The area is very mountainous and quite difficult to work so many families abandoned their wineries and their children went to work in factories. However in the 1990s some of the families who had wineries decided to try to make wines again.

The Consorzio/Consortium:

By the 2000, a number of wineries were working and decided to create a Consorzio called the Consorzio Tutela IGT Valcamonica which was founded in 2004. The wines are both whites and reds and there are currently 14 members of the Consorzio.

The Winery:

We were really lucky at the Wine Media Conference because a member of one of the wineries from the Consortium, from the cooperative cellar Rocche dei Vignali shared a bottle of their wines with us.

Rocche dei Vignali has 18 members, and was founded in 2003 and has 12 hectares. They really pushed for the creation of the Consorzio for IGT Valcamonica. The vineyards here are all at elevation, they are all planted on the south side of the Oglio river in such a way as to get sunlight all day long, and they are positively impacted by the breezes from Lake Iseo. The soils are calcareous and stony.

Tasting Note:

The wine we tried was called Camunnorum 2017. The labels of these wines change every year and are made by local artists from the area. A big red wine it was made from a combination of Marzemmino, a local grape, and Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as per the rules of the area. A portion of the grapes used to make this wine is allowed to wilt on the vine meaning they loose much of their water and bring a certain sweetness to the wine, such as with Amarone or Sfursat, two big red wines from Northern Italy as well. This wine spends 18 months in oak and then another six in the bottle. It’s their most prestigious offering and can age for many years.

It was bold both on the nose and the palate with a deep ruby red core, hints of spice and roses on the nose along with leather and cedar. On the palate, the wine was full bodied, enveloping, persistent, and had medium + alcohol and acidity, There was a hint of something minerally as well as some vegetal notes such as forest floor, berries and cherries. The tannins were well integrated and the aromas of sweet spice, cedar, and smoke were present as well. With a long finish this wine would be perfect with a roast on a cold day in the winter. It’s heightened alcohol could make it a wine that went from dinner into a hard cheese course after dinner. One could also think of it as what the Italians call a meditation wine. I think its probably best in their area where they eat a lot of fowl and game certainly more than I do here in New York.

Unesco Heritage Site for Rock Drawings Since 1979:

A word about the area’s cave paintings which are a Unesco heritage site. It was actually the first site to be named a Unesco heritage site in Italy back in 1979. They are known as the Rock drawings in Valle Camonica. There are more than 180 sites with these drawings spanning a very long time in history. There are 8 archaeological parks that began starting in 1955 and that protect the drawings. Reading and listening to the descriptions of these sites I cannot wait to visit. They are also quite famous for their hikes and for their castles that dot this landscape. Since it is a lesser known area, I am sure prices are still more reasonable and its fun to discover a new area. Can’t wait. Chi viene con me? Who is ready to come with me?

• Gwendolyn our host this month from The Wine Predator wrote, “Visiting Lombardy’s Lugana DOC: Selva Capuzza and Cà dei Frati Wines Plus Pumpkin Ravioli #ItalianFWT”
• On Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon posts about “Lombardy’s Oltrepò Pavese wines and stories of the women behind them”
• Susannah Gold shares “Mountain Wine from the Valcamonica, A New Discovery” on Avvinare.com
• Camilla Mann says “‘Ci Vediamo Presto!’ with a Franciacorta Sparkler + a Favorite Brinner” on Culinary Cam 
• Robin Bell Renken shares “Moscato di Scanzo and the Pharmacist’s Daughter” on  Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Wendy Klik has “La Pappardella Croatina served with the Pasta for which it is named” on A Day In The Life on the Farm