The Oltrepò Pavese in northwest Italy is probably not on most people's lists of the world's great sparkling wine regions. Admittedly, until I had the opportunity to visit Oltrepò Pavese I thought much the same way.

A couple of years ago Brad Lewis and I planned a visit to this historic, picturesque corner of Lombardy. We wanted to visit the Giorgi family winery and cellars. At the time the only wine we carried from Giorgi was Costarosa Sangue di Giuda. Costarosa is a wine many of you are now familiar with. Rich and fragrant, this wine is accompanied by an intense bouquet and a delicious fruity, sweet taste. And yes, it's sparkling.

Costarosa was such a huge hit with our guests that we decided to add two more wines from Giorgi. With the creativity of importer Nadia Galati and the wine making expertise of Fabiano Giorgi, Moscarosa (sparkling rosé) and Nadia Malvasia  (sparkling white) were born.

During my visit to the Giorgi winery I had the chance to taste an amazing array of wines made in every conceivable style. While I'm a fan of the wines we currently carry from Giorgi I was most impressed with the Giorgi 1870.

Giorgi 1870 is a wine that commemorates the first bottle of wine produced by the Giorgi family in 1870. It is the result of long and meticulous research into the production of classic method sparkling wine. Produced from 100% pinot noir and then aged for 36 months before disgorgement, this wine has remarkable complexity. It shows an intense straw-yellow with golden highlights. A great bouquet reminiscent of sage, mint, apricot and vanilla. Dry, balanced, rich and velvety.

The Giorgi 1870 is a consistent winner of one of Italy's most prestigious wine awards, Tre Bicchieri (three glasses) from Gambero Rosso.

If you have a sense of adventure and are looking for world class sparkling wine at a fraction of what the national brand Champagnes sell for, look no further than Giorgi 1870.

Paul Quaglini, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow him on Twitter @abcwinepaulq