Drop the Champagne, pick up the ‘61 Brut. Save yourself the trouble of figuring out what Cava is worth $20 and pay up for a world-class sparkling wine from a region created by this cuvée. Franciacorta was started by this winery in 1961.

Berlucchi’s excellence is born of curiosity and deep friendship. In 1955, Guido Berlucchi, a successful landowner in the Franciacorta region, approached the young enologist and consultant, Franco Ziliani, to improve his still wines. Then, Ziliani came to Berlucchi with the question: what if we were to make a sparkling wine as the French do? Berlucchi, who was eager to first improve the viability of his Pinot del Castello, offered his property and support to this pioneering experiment.

After a number of unsatisfactory vintages, the two men’s partnership produced the first shining vintage of their classic method sparkling wine, the 1961 “Pinot di Franciacorta.” In 1967, Franciacorta became a recognized designation of origin for Italian wine, with Berlucchi leading the way.

Unencumbered by generations of expectation and tradition, Berlucchi succeeded at crafting an elevated sparkling wine, tailored to Italian standards of excellence. They will undoubtedly continue to brighten the pallets and parties of bubbly lovers well beyond the region of Franciacorta.

The harvest period is from the middle ten days of August to the first ten days of September. The yield is 9,000 kilograms of grapes per hectare with 55% must yield. Gentle, gradual pressing of clusters with fractioning of the must. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in steel vats. The cuvée is assembled in the spring following harvest and undergoes a second fermentation in the bottles. Minimum maturation of 24 months on the lees followed by 2 months after disgorgement.