Franciacorta: Bring In The Holiday Season With Italian Bubbles

BY IAN D'AGATA | DECEMBER 20, 2018

Franciacorta, located in the province of Brescia, roughly an hour’s drive from the center of Milan, makes arguably Italy’s best sparkling wines. The region is characterized by flatland and hillside vineyards bound to the north by Lake Iseo, to the south by Mount Orfano, to the west by the Oglio River and to the east by the Rhaetian Alps. There are 19 different townships in the Franciacorta production zone, and even though most Franciacorta estates are quite large and own vineyards all over the denomination, it is useful to know that townships in the northern and eastern half of the Franciacorta denomination (especially Ome, Rodengo Saiano, and Gussago San Martino) benefit from a generally cooler microclimate.

The vineyards of Franciacorta

Thanks to its favorable climate and soil conditions, viticulture has been practiced in Franciacorta since at least ancient Roman times, but the area’s vines and wines were well documented during the Middle Ages as well. The name Franciacorta dates back to at least 1277, when a municipal statute of Brescia referred to the area south of Lake Iseo, between the Oglio and Mella rivers, as  “Franzacurta.” At that time, the area was already known for its wine production, and much of the local output was sold in nearby Brescia and other towns in the surrounding valleys, such as those in the Valcamonica and Valtrompia. The name Franzacurta/Franciacorta derives from the Latin words curtes francae, or corti franche in Italian, a reference to the fact that, with the arrival of monks from Cluny, this area was briefly exempted from paying taxes.

The Franciacorta area is famous for both still and sparkling wines, all made from international varieties (mostly Chardonnay, the Cabernets, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc), but has become especially associated over the last 30 years with extremely successful sparkling wines made by secondary fermentation in the bottle in the manner of Champagne. Over this time period, producers have accomplished to create a real awareness of their wines in the minds of the wine-loving public, who now walk into stores and restaurants asking for a glass or bottle of “Franciacorta,” just like they do with Champagne. In brief, Franciacorta has come to be identified with a wine-producing region and its specific sparkling wine. And in recognition of the importance of the “Franciacorta” name, the area’s still wines, previously called Terre di Franciacorta Bianco and Rosso, were officially renamed in 2008 to Curtefranca Bianco and Rosso, in an effort to avoid a confusing duplication of the “Franciacorta” name.