Azienda agricola Picchioni Andrea

About Winery and Wines

The Picchioni Andrea Winery is a small plot of land, approximately seven hectares, located in the Solinga valley. The vineyards grow on a south-exposed steep sloping hillside, on sandy and pebbled soil. The endless summer days bless the grapes with all the energy they need for a full ripening: the vine struggles in the light and the heat for every single drop of water. Oltrepò Pavese is a triangle of land located in Lombardy and wedged between the Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont regions, which forms the northern end of the Appennini mountains. Due to the region’s strategic location, in the past centuries it was crossed by people moving throughout the Padana plains and by pilgrims travelling to Rome. The ancient ‘Salt Roads’ also run through it. Canneto Pavese is a small town, traditionally renowned for wine production, which until recently could boast the highest ratio of vineyards per total land area in Italy. During the XIX century, its full-bodied wines quickly gained a national reputation for their excellence and were also successfully exported worldwide, their preservation being ensured by their high alcoholic content. In the second half of the XX century, the increasing demand for low-cost wines led winemakers to abandon many of the best vineyards, whose care was difficult and expensive because of their position. So, great vineyards such as Monte Bruciato, Montuè and Solinga remained sadly ignored for years. Only recently, a host of young wine-growers, inspired by a true love for their land, brought them to life again.

Our adventure began in 1988 with the singling out of some old vineyards, which we thought were best fit for the production of high quality wines. The recovery of these vineyards has been difficult, but an exciting challenge for us. The cornerstones of our philosophy are the greatest respect for the grapes and the extreme care through all the phases of the winemaking process. But it is our unbounded passion which marks the handcraft of our wines, from the vineyards, which we grow using traditional, environment-friendly techniques, to the cellar. Our wines, obtained from small crops of selected grapes, are rich in body, natural colour components, glycerine and noble tannins, which become smoother and rounder with aging. All these characteristics are markedly different from those of the mainstream local production. These results would have never been achieved without the help of Giuseppe Zatti, who began working with us in 1995, and whose expertise in winemaking and friendship are immensely precious for us. We really hope that you will feel in each one of our bottles the passion which constantly guides us through our work.