Pouring Franciacorta sparkling wine

Where and What is Franciacorta?

You know Champagne! You probably know Cava from Spain. But you most likely do not now about Franciacorta sparkling wine. Where and what is Franciacorta? Franciacorta is an area of Italy that produces a high-quality sparkling wine. After attending an excellent tasting of Franciacorta in San Francisco, I am convinced that we will see more Franciacorta coming to fine wine shops and becoming very popular in the U.S. It is delicious and rivals the best from Champagne and other great sparkling wine producers from around the world.

In the Province of Brescia in northern Italy

Where is Franciacorta?

Franciacorta is an area that consists of 19 municipalities all in the province of Brescia in Northern Italy. The largest and closest big city is Brescia. Many wine travelers arrive in Franciacorta from the Verona Airport and then drive an hour to the Franciacorta area. In 1995, the area of Franciacorta was awarded DOCG status by the Italian government. Vineyard plantings amount to 7,800 acres, and that is about one-tenth the size of Champagne. In March of 2009, the Franciacorta Consortium was formed and consists of 29 producers.

What is Franciacorta?

Franciacorta sparkling wine is a world-class wine. It is made in the same traditional manner as what is done in the Champagne region of France, Methode Champenoise. A second fermentation, which takes place in a closed bottle, creates the bubbles. The grapes used in the making of Franciacorta are Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, and Pinot Bianco. Non-vintage Franciacorta must age at least 18 months in the bottle. In the photo below are riddling racks. Riddling is an ancient craft where cellar workers turn each bottle 1/8 of turn daily and bang the bottle back in place. Sediment and dead yeast cells move to the neck of the bottle by this action. Read: “How sparkling wine is made.”

Riddling for Franciacorta sparkling wine

Riddling Racks in a Franciacorta cellar

Tasting Franciacorta Sparkling wine

What we find in tasting Franciacorta is an excellent and delicate sparkling wine, filling the sensory modes with many flavors. Subtle apple, pear, and mineral characteristics abound. It is a fun wine but also serious enough for celebrating the best of occasions. Add a few bottles of Franciacorta to your wine cellar. Use the Wine-Searcher.com to find where you can purchase Franciacorta near you.

We visited the Franciacorta region in 2011 while attending the European Bloggers Conference. If you love traveling the world in search of wine, think about this beautiful spot in Northern Italy. There are biking and hiking trails that are beyond spectacular. What a way to vacation! Please see the Franciacorta Wine Tourism Website.

Our Italian Wine Adventures begin in the city of Brescia. We were not familiar with this city until we decided to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference. It is one of those hidden gems that somehow remain relatively undiscovered by tourists. Brescia is mostly an industrial city but the city centre is magnificent with its beautiful Duomo, Piazza della Loggia, and the Santa Giulia City Museum, which is also the conference headquarters. Brescia sits in the Lombardy region at the northern end of Italy. Here lies Franciacorta wine territory, an area most famous for its sparkling wine, a wine that rivals that of Champagne and Cava. Like Champagne and Cava, by law no sparkling wine can be labeled Franciacorta unless it comes from this region and bears the DOCG designation on the label. We will be heading to Franciacorta wineries on Friday afternoon for a tour, tasting, and a fabulous Italian dinner.