- Food & Wine
Brescia Caviar
A surprise in the Po Valley
Brescia caviar is the result of both ingenuity and chance. Who would have thought it to be one of the most famous local products? An essential purchase when engaging in food and wine tourism.
Lombardy always provides pleasant surprises even if you may think to know it thoroughly.
In the early 1970s in the town of Calvisano in the province of Brescia, the Tolettini family owned a steel mill. An important change came with the proposal of conveying in large tanks water from the springs used to cool down the furnace, later employed for fish farming.
Business began with eels, but after an encounter with a Russian marine biologist, it started breeding sturgeons.
Pacific sturgeon was the first variety to be imported. The male's flesh is ideal for smoking.
Afterwards, they learned to extract the female's roe and in 1992 the food company Agro Ittica managed to produce the initial batches of caviar by founding the prestigious Calvisius brand.
Since then 5 additional species were added and production increased to the point of covering 20% of world demand, exporting these local products to 14 countries, including Russia.
Brescia caviar is best paired with a sparkling chalice of Franciacorta wine. Culinary tourism will allow you live unforgettable experiences in Lombardy.
