Chris BerryFounder, Wine Underdogs — chasing the world’s overlooked grapesCroatina, Vespolina, and Uva Rara are the native red grapes of Oltrepò Pavese, a quiet hill zone in southwest Lombardy, northern Italy. Blended together they make rustic, peppery, often lightly fizzy reds — most famously Barbacarlo, the cult wine of Lino Maga, a maker so uncompromising he keeps no website, no certifications, and no chemicals. It's one of Italy's great hidden corners.
Some underdogs are grapes; this one is a place and a person. Oltrepò Pavese is the part of Lombardy almost no wine map bothers with, and its native grapes — Croatina, Vespolina, Uva Rara — have never been famous anywhere. Yet from four hectares of these vines, one man has made a wine that serious collectors chase around the world. If you want to understand why we do this, start here.
The three grapes
Croatina is the backbone — deep-colored, peppery, with bright acidity and gentle tannin (you may also see it labeled Bonarda in these parts). Vespolina, known locally as Ughetto, adds spice and a wild, brambly lift. Uva Rara — literally "rare grape" — softens and rounds the blend. Together they make reds that are savory, red-fruited, and often faintly fizzy, the opposite of polished international wine. They taste like somewhere.
The legend of Lino Maga
The patron saint of these grapes is Lino Maga, whose family has farmed the Barbacarlo vineyard since 1886. His way of working is almost a provocation: no chemicals in vineyard or cellar (bar a touch of sulfur at bottling), no certifications, no website, fermentation with wild yeasts in ancient casks. Depending on the vintage, Barbacarlo re-ferments in the bottle, leaving a faint spritz and a whisper of sweetness — so no two years are quite alike. It is wine as the antithesis of standardization, and it has made Maga a quiet legend. Read his story and you'll understand the whole underdog ethos: do it your own way, refuse to chase fame, and let the wine speak.
Why it matters
These grapes and this place are a reminder that greatness in wine isn't the same as fame. Oltrepò Pavese will never be Barolo, and that's exactly the point — it's a living museum of grapes and methods the modern market tried to forget. Drinking them, or even just knowing they exist, is a small act of resistance against the monoculture of the recognizable.
A note on finding it
Barbacarlo itself is rare and allocated — you'll meet it through specialist importers and a few serious wine lists, not on a supermarket shelf. More broadly, Croatina, Vespolina, and Uva Rara barely travel. That scarcity is the underdog tax, and for a wine with a story like this, it's worth paying.
Common questions about Oltrepò Pavese's grapes
What grapes make Barbacarlo? A blend of Croatina, Uva Rara, and Vespolina (Vespolina is known locally as Ughetto) — the native red grapes of Oltrepò Pavese in Lombardy.
Who is Lino Maga? The legendary, uncompromising maker of Barbacarlo, whose family has farmed the vineyard since 1886, working without chemicals, certifications, or a website.
What does Barbacarlo taste like? Rustic and savory — red cherry, cranberry, white pepper, and earth, often with a faint natural fizz and a touch of sweetness that varies by vintage.
Where is Oltrepò Pavese? A hilly wine zone in southwest Lombardy, northern Italy — one of the country's least-known quality regions.
More cult and rustic reds: Teroldego and Schiava. New here? Start with the Underdog Starter List.
— Chris Berry