Ziliani (Berlucchi): no to the union between Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese
"The Brescia DOCG has room to plant new vineyards while Oltrepò would see its project to relaunch Metodo Classico sparkling wine debased"
Key points
Paolo Ziliani, owner, together with his brothers, of Berlucchi, the label that gave birth to Franciacorta, affirms a firm 'no' to the project of a 'Grande Franciacorta' that from the province of Brescia would in fact encompass the designation of the Oltrepò pavese.
The idea put forward in recent days in the media has also been commented on by the respective presidents: absolutely against the president of Franciacorta Docg (3,100 hectares of vineyards planted mainly with Chardonnay), Emanuele Rabotti, while the president of the Oltrepò pavese Consortium (14 thousand hectares of vineyards, 3 thousand of which are planted with Pinot Noir), Francesca Seralvo, is open to the idea.
Increasing the critical mass of Franciacorta?
The proposal put forward by professors Michele Antonio Fino and Carmine Garzia stems from the need to strengthen the production of Franciacorta, which at the moment, despite its good price positioning on the markets, does not have thecritical mass necessary to focus strongly on foreign markets. Hence the idea: instead of planting new vineyards and waiting for them to go into production, the denomination can be extended to the Oltrepò pavese.
Berlucchi is present in both territories
On the subject, Paolo Ziliani, owner of Berlucchi, the historic Franciacorta sparkling wine company (it produces about 4.5 million bottles a year between Berlucchi and Antica Fratta) and is probably the only Franciacorta winery that has also invested in Oltrepò pavese. 'I don't deny,' explains Ziliani, 'that seen from the outside, the proposed idea may have its validity. However, I agree with the president of the Franciacorta Consortium, who has ruled out such a hypothesis a priori. The president of the Consorzio dell'Oltrepò, on the other hand, was open to such a solution, asking, however, for guarantees that the Oltrepò in such an operation would not become a "second class" territory. But that is exactly what would happen because the proposal aims precisely at turning Oltrepò into a reservoir of grapes for Franciacorta. A function that it has already performed in the past in favour of other sparkling wine appellations'.
According to Ziliani, therefore, in such an amalgamation (which would foresee the creation of two new denominations: Franciacorta Superiore and Grande Franciacorta in the wake of what happened with Prosecco Superiore and Prosecco Doc), Oltrepò risks losing its identity.
