On its own, the hilly area of Oltrepò Pavese, on the border with Piedmont in the province of Pavia, produces more than half of Lombardy's wine. The most widely cultivated grape is Croatina, a black berry that can produce dark wines with intense fruity aromas and a generous structure. Croatina is used to produce Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese DOC. The type most found is sparkling, either dry or medium-sweet. Sparkling Bonarda is a vivacious wine, weak-bodied and and tending towards soft. It pairs well with cured meats, such as the typical Salamino di Varzi. But Bonarda can also be made firm and structured, like Buttafuoco DOC, which is produced in a restricted area, by adding a little Barbera to the Croatina. The Oltrepò Pavese area is also famous for its Pinot Noir. Pinot nero dell'Oltrepò Pavese DOC is an elegant, medium-bodied red wine, normally aged in wood. But here, Pinot Noir mostly undergoes white vinification and is made into spumante. Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico DOCG is a spumante with an important structure, also available in a rosé version (called Cruasé).

On the border with Switzerland, in the Alps in the province of Sondrio, fine red wines are produced from Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca. These are the wines of the Valtellina, produced from the grapes of terraced vineyards that cling to the rocky face of the mountain. "Nebbiolo delle Alpi” is the consortium's slogan. The winemaking tradition in Valtellina is ancient, dating back to before the Ancient Romans, and it has never waned, notwithstanding the difficulties of having to work manually in such arduous conditions, with gradients of up to 65%. However, the fact that the northern side of the valley is exposed to the south ensures that the vines benefit from sunlight from dawn to dusk. Rosso della Valtellina DOC is a young wine, to be enjoyed for its liveliness and lightness, along with a plate of Bresaola. Valtellina Superiore DOCG, on the other hand, is a structured wine, which is ready after two years of ageing. It is also available in the Riserva version, perfect with the traditional Pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with greens and cubed potatoes) or meat stews. Valtellina Superiore wines can be divided into 5 sub-zones: Maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella. Each has its own distinct personality. Last but not least, in Valtellina Nebbiolo is also used to produce a splendid dry raisin wine: Sforzato della Valtellina DOCG. In order to produce this wine, the Nebbiolo grapes are left to dry slowly in drying lofts, so that they lose weight due to dehydration; the must, rich in sugars, ferments and is transformed into dry wines with a high alcohol content (over 14%), rich in evolved aromas with an intense, persistent taste. Sforzato pairs excellently with very mature cheeses or can be enjoyed after dinner, while reading a book.

Further down, at the foothills of the Alps in the province of Bergamo, white and red wines are made mainly from international grape varieties such as Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Valcalèpio DOC is the traditional designation, while Terre del Colleoni DOC is more recent and is dedicated to monovarietal wines. A speciality of the province of Bergamo is Moscato di Scanzo DOCG, a sweet raisin wine made from the aromatic black grape variety, Moscato di Scanzo.

The latest addition, but a feather in the cap of Lombardy oenology, is the Franciacorta DOCG designation. Before becoming the name of a wine, Franciacorta is, first and foremost, already the name of a place, inhabited long ago, namely the amphitheatre that formed on the southern shore of Lake Iseo after the retreat of the glaciers. Franciacorta has been producing wine - mainly red - since Mediaeval times. Franciacorta DOCG wines, on the other hand, are Traditional Method spumantes produced chiefly with Chardonnay. In 1961, Franco Ziliani and Guido Berlucchi attempted to produce a spumante from white Franciacorta grapes. It was such a success that Berlucchi quickly became one of Italy's leading producers of spumante. Other entrepreneurs started imitating this phenomenon and within a couple of decades, a centre of excellence for spumante, inspired by the Champagne model, had been created. Franciacorta DOCG are elegant spumante, also available in Rosé and Riserva versions. The tradition of Franciacorta still wines lives on in the Curtefranca DOC designation.

The shores of Lake Garda are also suitable areas for the production of interesting wines. In the Valtènesi area, to the west, some of Italy's finest rosé wines are produced from the Groppello grape variety. These are the famous Chiaretto del Garda wines, which are now released under the name Valtènesi Riviera del Garda Classico DOC. In the vineyards to the south of Lake Garda, the white Turbiana grape is grown. In the past, it was called Trebbiano di Lugana, but it is not a Trebbiano, but rather a clone of Verdicchio. Lugana DOC is the typical white wine from Lake Garda, particularly appreciated by the Germans; it is a designation that also extends to the province of Verona and gives refreshing white wines when young, structured and savoury in the Superiore and Riserva versions, with prolonged ageing on the lees and sometimes in wood. Lugana DOC can also be produced as a spumante.

Wine production in the other provinces is rather low. Lambrusco Mantovano DOC is worth a mention: it is similar to the Lambrusco wines of Emilia, and to San Colombano al Lambro DOC, produced between Lodi and Milan, which in its red version is similar to the Oltrepò Pavese wines made with Croatina and Barbera, while the white can also be produced with the native grape variety, Verdea, blended with Chardonnay.