Franciacorta: Italian Sparkling Wines

Judith Schrut has been sampling Franciacorta’s distinctive sparkling wines.

Franciacorta has been described as the “best wine you’ve never heard of” and I’ll be honest, I had not heard of it until I was invited to taste some at its Annual London Showcase. The event was hosted by the Vice President of Franciacorta, Silvano Brescianini and Franciacorta’s UK Brand Ambassador, Tom Harrow. 

It turns out that Franciacorta is not only a gorgeous and unique variety of sparkling Italian wine but a production method and a region. The region sits in a cozy corner of northern Italy not far from Milan and produces some of the highest quality sparkling wines in the world. Franciacorta was the first Italian wine to be produced exclusively using traditional methods (meaning that the second fermentation must occur naturally in the bottle) and the first to obtain the coveted DOCG status, the ultimate Italian wine standard.

Showcase guests were offered plenty to sniff,  sip and sample— with 19 wineries represented— but particularly memorable for me were some of Franciacorta’s exquisite rosés. These included Ferghettina’s Franciacorta Rosé Brut, with its distinctive bottle, pale peach hue and refreshing, clean taste, and Santus’ Rosé Extra Brut, made from 100% pinot noir grapes, a perfect early autumn fizz, deliciously scented and tasting of forest fruits.

But I was completely besotted with La Montina’s elegant Rosé Millesimato Extra Brut.  The La Montina estate dates back to the 17^th century and is one of the very few wineries still using a soft pressing method with a vertical ‘Marmonier’ wine press. Its special Rosé spends 7 years maturing on the lees, resulting in a soft sparkle, creamy bubbles, vivid berry flavours and a toasty touch of French oak.

The Franciacorta Annual London Showcase, 67 Pall Mall, St. James’s, London SW1Y 5ES. Many Franciacorta wines are available in the UK. More at franciacorta.net/en/wine.