Franciacorta is Italy's answer to Champagne, and Monticelli Brusati sits in the middle of it. Sparkling wine made by the classic method, second fermentation in the bottle, has been the business of these low hills between Brescia and Lake Iseo since the 1960s, and the result is a landscape of tidy vineyards, cypress-lined drives and cellar doors, with old stone villages tucked into the folds of the land.
It is a good place to fill the tank before the mountains. Monticelli itself is small, so if the pumps in the village are shut, Rodengo-Saiano, a few minutes south, is the reliable alternative. Rodengo also has the great Olivetan abbey of San Nicola, with three cloisters and frescoed halls, a surprisingly grand building in a wine village.
North of here the hills drop to Lake Iseo, the least known of the big Lombard lakes and in many ways the most charming. Monte Isola, in the middle of it, is the largest inhabited lake island in Europe, with fishing villages and almost no cars. The road along the eastern shore, towards Lovere, runs through tunnels and along the water's edge with fine views.
The ride towards Passo San Marco takes you west and north, through Bergamo's valleys and up Val Brembana, where the roads narrow and climb steeply through forests and old mining villages. The pass itself crosses to the Valtellina with a long series of hairpins on the northern side.
Round Monticelli the roads are narrow, winding and well surfaced, with gentle gradients and little traffic, though weekend wine visitors can slow things down. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, when the vineyards are green or golden and the air is fresh. Save the tasting for the evening; the carabinieri are not sentimental about bubbles.