My good friend Jeremy Parzen came to town recently and staged a small tasting of sparkling wines from Franciacorta. Jeremy is the author of the Do Bianchi wine blog, with a specific focus on Italy.
Franciacorta, for those not versed in Italian wine, is a small wine district in Lombardy, near Milan. Italians have a mighty thirst for bubbly, and it is produced throughout the country, but Franciacorta is the only sparkling-wine production zone in Italy with the goods to rival France’s Champagne region across a broad spectrum of producers.
Bubblies from Franciacorta generally have more structure, complexity and finesse than sparkling wines made elsewhere in Italy, although a few producers in Trentino come close.
Parzen is a true believer, and would put Franciacorta on par with Champagne.
"The varied soils, the Alpine climate, it’s warmer than Champagne so Franciacorta is able to harvest riper grapes," he said. "I think it’s more compatible with food than Champagne. I drink Franciacorta with pizza, with pasta, even with a pork chop. But Franciacorta always has to battle the ‘C’ word."
While I admire Parzen’s enthusiasm and intellect on the top, and see the differences as well, I find Franciacorta has more similarities with Champagne than not.
Both produce the bubbles with a second fermentation in the bottle, a process in Italy called "metodo Italiano." Both have strict rules that dictate the grape varieties that must be used. Franciacorta allows three grapes for sparkling wine production: pinot nero (pinot noir), pinot blanc and chardonnay. Of course, chardonnay and pinot noir are the primary grapes used in Champagne.
Finally, the dosage levels for the various styles, such as brut or extra dry, are identical.
From my own personal point of view, I would put Ca’ del Bosco and Bellavista on the same plane as top-notch Champagne. Bellavista was presented at the Franciacorta tasting; Ca’ del Bosco wasn’t. Other Franciacorta bubblies that impressed me at the tasting were from the producers Monte Rossa and Ricci Curbastro.
While I am not quite ready to join Parzen and anoint all of Franciacorta as the equal of Champagne, I can tell you the quality is second only to Champagne and the cost is far less.
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