Golf Around Challenge in Camuzzago: Faravelli Enchants with Wines and… Puccini

The Camuzzago Golf Club hosted a new round of the Golf Around Challenge, a competition played under the individual Stableford format. The tournament was played over nine holes, with participants divided into three categories. This format was designed to bring together players of different skill levels and keep the competition open until the very last holes.

Several awards were presented at the end of the day. The rules provided for prizes for the first Gross score, as well as the first and second Net scores in each category. There were also special prizes reserved for the top female and top male players. Everyone had the chance to toast with wines from Cantine Vitea, one of the event’s sponsors, and the owner of the Montù Beccaria-based winery—the avid golf enthusiast Antonio Faravelli—was also in attendance.

“‘Our wines are born in the heart of the Oltrepò Pavese region, from a family tradition dating back to 1895,’ he said proudly. ‘The Faravelli family is now in its fifth generation and manages the entire production cycle in-house, from vineyard management to winemaking and bottling. The estate’s vineyards are located at an altitude of between approximately 230 and 275 meters, on predominantly clayey and calcareous soils, and are cultivated according to integrated pest management principles. The production is quite varied and includes reds, whites, sweet wines, and sparkling wines, with a strong presence of traditional Oltrepò grape varieties.”

“There’s also a story that makes me particularly proud, because it intertwines my family’s history with that of an extraordinary figure like Giacomo Puccini,” he added. Evidence of that connection is an original letter from the Maestro, dated January 8, 1908, and addressed to Baron Giuseppe Weil Weiss, who moved in the same social circles and went on the same hunting trips as my great-grandfather. These were occasions for gathering and conviviality in which wine naturally played an important role. And knowing that Puccini truly appreciated the wines of our region—from the Bonarda made from Croatina grapes to the sparkling whites, particularly the Pinot from the Valle Versa—holds special meaning for me. It’s a piece of our family history, but also of the history of the Oltrepò, which I’m proud to be able to share and carry on through our work.”