🍷 Franciacorta

Franciacorta is an Italian DOCG wine from the hills south of Lake Iseo in the province of Brescia, made only by refermentation in the bottle and disgorging. It comes in three types, Franciacorta, Satèn and Rosé, from Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco and the local Erbamat, and spends 18 to 60 months on its lees. ¹²

One word on the label. The name Franciacorta stands for the wine, the place and the method at once: the label may not say «metodo classico», «traditional method» or «vino spumante», so look for that single word. ² In the EU register it is the protected designation of origin «Franciacorta», in the category of quality sparkling wine, which requires at least 3.5 bar of pressure at 20 °C. ³⁵

Grapes and vineyards. Franciacorta uses Chardonnay and Pinot Nero, with up to 50% Pinot Bianco and up to 10% Erbamat, allowed since 2017; Rosé needs at least 35% Pinot Nero, and Satèn at least 50% Chardonnay with Pinot Bianco. New vineyards have at least 4,500 vines per hectare, the yield is capped at 10 t/ha, and the grapes must reach 9.5% natural alcohol. They are picked by hand into crates of up to 0.2 t, filled no deeper than 40 cm. ²

In the cellar. Whole bunches are pressed directly without destemming, except Pinot Nero for Rosé, and no more than 65% of the grape weight may become base wine. Bottling for the second fermentation may start on 1 February after the harvest. For Satèn, at most 20 g/l of sugar may be added for the second fermentation, which keeps its pressure at no more than 5 atmospheres and gives a creamy mousse. ²

Time on the lees. From bottling to disgorging the wine must rest at least 18 months; Rosé and Satèn need 24, vintage (millesimato) wines 30 and Riserva 60. Vintage wines must be at least 85% from the stated year, and Riserva is always a vintage wine. The lees are removed only by disgorging, filtration is not allowed, and the dosage liqueur may contain only Franciacorta or Curtefranca wine. ²

From dry to medium dry. Franciacorta and Rosé may be dosaggio zero, extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec or demi-sec; vintage wines go up to extra dry, Riserva up to brut, and Satèn is only brut. All need at least 11.5% vol and 5 g/l of acidity. ² Under EU rules, dosaggio zero means less than 3 g/l of sugar with none added, brut less than 12 g/l and demi-sec 32–50 g/l. ⁴

Moraine and lake. The area covers 14 whole communes, including Erbusco, Iseo, Adro and Passirano, and parts of five more. It is a moraine amphitheatre left by the Valcamonica glacier, with six soil units identified in the 1990s; Lake Iseo softens the climate. Rain is about 1,000 mm a year, 500–600 mm in the growing season, and the Winkler index is 1,800–2,300 degree-days. ²

From 1277 to 1995. Grape pips from prehistoric lake dwellings were found at Provaglio d'Iseo. The name comes from «francae curtes», monastic courts exempt from duties, and «Franzacurta» first appears in the Statutes of Brescia in 1277; in 1570 the Brescian doctor Gerolamo Conforti wrote about naturally sparkling wines. The DOC came in 1967 and the DOCG for the sparkling wine in 1995. ²

Why it matters to you. Look for the name Franciacorta, the crenellated «F» logo registered in 1991 and a cork printed «Franciacorta»: together they guarantee bottle fermentation and at least 18 months on the lees. ² On the label Satèn means a softer brut and Riserva at least five years on the lees. ² The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁶