After the official visit of a delegation from Friuli-Venezia-Giulia in Northern Italy, an unofficial tasting of Lambrusco and other wines of the Central Italy 's region Emilia Romagna, here is a glimpse of Lombardia in North West Italy. A six-member delegation from the Federlombarda Agricoltori, an agricultural association of Lombardia region, in collaboration with the Promos-Milan Chamber of Commerce was in Delhi last week as part of an EU initiative to promote agricultural and food products of this region.

When one talks of wines from Lombardia, the first name that comes to mind is Franciacorta. Situated in the middle of Brescia and Bergamo , this region is known for DOCG sparkling wines which are produced using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a dash of Pinot Bianco. The Traditional method of second fermentation in the bottle is deployed. These wines have become a benchmark for quality Italian sparkling wines.

Lombardia is also known for the exotic lakes, Como ; Garda and Maggiore which are some of Italy 's most exotic locations so easy to fall in love with. Over the centuries, painters, writers, artists and aristocrats have been attracted here from many countries. Of course, its capital Milan is the center of the world's fashion industry.

One of the events organised for the delegation was a dinner at Travertino Restaurant at Hotel Oberoi, using ingredients and wines from the region. The sparkling wine served as a welcome drink must have been very popular. Before I could lay my hands on a glass,  it had finished. The cheese and pork based appetisers were plentiful and simply delicious, though.

Grand Protagonista of the evening was the Grana Padano cheese although other P.D.O. varieties like Gorgonzola, Taleggio, and Provolone were also featured in the 5-course  menu  executed by the visiting Chef Giancarlo Piccarreta and his band of the chefs from the restaurant.

Piccarreta was the real protagonist! One of the coordinators for the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF), he had crafted the dishes for the evening. He made it sound so simple while explaining the cuisine. But he did make his point that thequality of the ingredients was truly critical and cheese was an important component of the Lombardian cuisine. (One hopes Angelo de Loia, Restaurant Manager of Travertino will have him back soon for some more of the truly gastronomical experience. P.D.O. is the food equivalent of the Italian DOC appellation system for wines. It refers to a product indigenous to a region whose characteristics depend upon the geographical origin. All stages of production must also take place in this area to get this recognition.

‘But isn't Grana Padano similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano we are so familiar with?' I asked Dott.ssa Elisabette Serraiotte, the charming Communications and Marketing Manager of the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano. ‘Parmigiano is cheese from Parma and Reggio in Emilia and looks similar in shape, and taste. But Grana is made from a different process initiated by monks a thousand years ago. The special process helps it retain all the nutritional properties of milk, adding special cheese flavours on aging. It is also more grainy,'( and hence the name Grana), she said. I did find it grainy and slightly less salty than the universally favourite Parmigiano- Reggiano.

'We know that in recent years Italian restaurants have become very popular in India and it is very important that in these places the individual traditions of both the countries are faithfully interpreted. For this reason we will also be going to some Italian restaurants in the capital to display some of our cheese and rice products," said Antonio Biancardi, President of Federlombarda Agricoltori, and Chief of the delegation. "We hope that India appreciates our food products as much as we appreciate your cuisine," he added.

Franciacorta is getting to be a more popular zone due to its French style of production. But Valtellina is an interesting region, the only one out of Piedmont where Nebbiolo grape shines, in the Valtellina Superiore DOCG.

Oltrepò Pavese is another wine zone around Pavia , about 75 kms. South West of Milan where DOC wines are made. As my dinner table neighbour Franco Conticini from Tuscany explained to me, ‘oltre is Italian for more, Po denotes the Po Valley which is very fertile and  not good for wines but on the sloppy mountains vines grow all over. Pavese, of course, signifies Pavian.'  Dino Torti makes some very good quality wines, especially Pinot Nero and at substantially lower prices than their Burgundy equivalents. ( www.tortiwinepinotnero.com )

The medium bodied ruby red wine with dinner had very subtle aromas with a hint of oak. The flavour had a distinct salty touch on the palate, that subdued in the mid palate where berry flavours took over. It had soft and rounded tannins and was a well balanced ready to drink wine. A wise choice , the 'Oltrepo Pavese DOC Pinot Nero 2000' served through the multiple courses paired well with the starters, slightly overcooked three types of POD Carnaroli Risotto, chicken meat in saffron sauce, and the cheese platter served before the dessert. Al dante means different to Indians than Italians , it seems. Moscato with the dessert was quite aromatic, fruity and sweet wine with a good acid balance. It is a pity Indian palate has still not got used to such delicious wines with desserts so far.

If the dinner was an indication of the Lombardian cuisine- Risotto, cheese and chicken based, it should have quite a few takers from the Italian food-lover section. Wines from the region can offer a wider choice though nothing unique in terms of region or grapes was evident in the evening.