The "Azienda Agricola Montelio" is located in the municipality of Codevilla in the province of Pavia in the Italian region of
Lombardy. An estate "Montelio" was already mentioned in 1200 as property of the
Benedictine monastery "Monastero del Senatore", which had often hosted Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1122-1190). It was purchased by the current owners in 1803 and the winery was founded in 1848. The great-grandfather of the current owners, Domenico Mazza, created the brand name of the winery and the special bottle shape that is still used today for the
Riserva wines. Today, Caterina & Giovanna Brazzola are the seventh generation of the family to run the winery, with Alberto Faravelli as cellar master and Mario Maffi as oenologist. The vineyards cover 27 hectares, of which 22 hectares are under cultivation. They are dominated by a hexagonal structure located on the top of the hill, from which you can see the surrounding Alps. They are planted with the white grape varieties Cortese, Riesling Italico, Rhine Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Chardonnay, and the red grape varieties Barbera, Pinot Nero, Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese), Merlot and Croatina (Bonarda di Rovescala). Only our own grapes are processed.
The cultivation is carried out according to
KIP rules with
cover crop and
mulch farming. A special feature is that over 200 bird nests are located in the vineyards, which provide natural pest control. In 2014, the farm was awarded the "Ecofriendly" prize by "Vini Buoni D'Italia". The grapes, which have been reduced in yield by
thinning out, are harvested manually. The red wines mature for six to eight months in 500-liter tonneaux (wooden barrels). The product range includes various red, rosé and white wines or Frizzante and Spumante DOC
Oltrepò Pavese and IGT Provincia di Pavia. Premium wines are IGT Muller Thurgau "La Giostra", Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Nero "Costarsa" and Oltrepò Pavese Rosso Riserva "Solarolo". For Müller-Thurgau,
cryomaceration is used (24 hours), then
fermentation is initiated with selected yeasts. Annually 120,000 bottles of wine are produced, 8% of which are exported to England, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Since 2013, Montelio has been a training site for the Università degli Studi di Scienze. The winery is a member of Agriturist, Consorzio Vini Tutela dell'Oltrepò Pavese and Movimento Turismo del Vino Lombardo.
