Oltrepo Pavese is a curious corner of Italy’s wine map. The name means “The bit of Pavia on the other side of the Po”, a name obviously written by people on the north side of the river. Most of Lombardy is filled by the fertile Po valley and the many fingered city of Milan, but at the region’s southern extremity, the Apennine foothills cut into the plain, and mark the start of a small, hilly wine region, very different from nearby Piedmont. Winemakers here get to do their own thing, and Ca’Montabello, just outside the town of Broni, makes a delightfully weird white wine from Pinot Noir. This estate has been under the direction of the Scarani family since the eighteenth century. Grown in Italy’s trademark Calcareous soil, grapes are picked for optimum acidity and pressed like a white wine so no trace of skin color gets in. The nose of this wine shows lime in several stages: fresh pressed juice, blossom, and zest. There’s notes of chalky soil, tangerine, Rainier cherry, marjoram and coriander seed. The palate is bright, mouthwatering fresh, with a touch of trapped CO2 to give an extra jolt of spritz. Flavors of white peaches and cherries and oranges finish up with a dusting of chalky minerals. Pair this people pleaser with spicy Gazpacho or light pastas featuring anchovies.