So much of the fun of Italian travel is Anticipation…
In a few days I’ll discover someplace in Italy I’ve never been before…the Franciacorta wine region, north of Milan.
Just a few weeks ago, back in Los Angeles, I was dreaming about it with my friend Pam, and wrote this:
The cork pops, my heart leaps. My friend Pam and I clink glasses.
“Salute” I say, just like my grandparents always toasted at childhood dinners. Of course, these days, toasting “To Health” carries a lot more weight.
“Buon Viaggio!” toasts Pam. That lightens things up. This celebration is making it real. I’ve been watching Italy’s case numbers for a whole month go down, down, down. So I did it. I booked a ticket. Yes, I’ll be proceeding with caution, with N95masks, and vaccination checks. I’ll be back in Italy.
Watching bubbles dance in my glass, happy thoughts bubble in. I’ll be visiting my old favorites and discovering someplace new: the Franciacorta wine region where this bubbly was made.
What a joy it is to say it: Frrrrrahn-chah-CORRRR-tah! Pam puts on her wine taster face, sticks her nose in the glass, takes a long serious sip, and smiles, “Mmmm…crisp, a little citrus, a little creamy…I love Franciacorta!”
Time for another toast. For the first time in so long I indulge in imagining the fun future. I see myself taking a pretty ride, an hour and some east of Milan, and arriving in Franciacorta — this treasure of a spot that borders the southern edge of Lake Iseo, the lesser known of the elegant bunch of lakes in northern Italy that stirs travel fantasies — Garda, Como, Maggiore. Alps rise in the distance. Hills gently roll, dotted by forests, olive groves, medieval villages, monasteries and abbeys.
Best of all are the abundant vineyards and 121 wineries, all part of the Consorzio of Franciacorta.
Wine making began here in Roman times, and then came medieval monks from the powerful Monastery of Cluny in France who labored in these beautiful vineyards. Making things more attractive was that the area was Curtes Francae, a tax-free area for trade, which is how its name became Franciacorta. Cut to the exciting post World War II boom of the 1950s, when winery owner Guido Berlucchi was inspired to change things up and called in a young and talented winemaker, Franco Ziliani.
Given that the Franciacorta terrain is similar to a certain region in France, they decided to try making their wine sparkle by using the “Champagne method”. The experiment resulted in a grande successo, and the new Italian way was called Metodo Classico. By 1961 the first commercial batch of Franciacorta was put on the market.
Over decades, Franciacorta has gained loads of praise in the wine world. In nearby Milan it’s poured at all the fancy fashion shows and at La Scala Opera’s grand openings. Yet because this is a small, boutique region that produces much fewer bottles than Champagne or Prosecco, Pam and I are just catching on to Franciacorta.
We toast to the Ziliani — Berlucchi team, the winemakers who started it all. I’ve heard Ziliani speak, and still humble, he says though they’ve had great success, the region and the wines are ever evolving. “You must be in the dream forever, because the day you say I have my dream…then it is all finished.”
We toast to my dream that’s just beginning. I’ll be visiting the great range of Franciacorta wineries, getting in on the cutting edge of this region that’s flowing with new young energy, using organic methods, embracing sustainability, and also meeting many of the powerful women in this wine world. And I’ll go to Berlucchi, to join in on celebrating 60 years since they put out that first batch of Franciacorta.
I’ll bike along the Franciacorta Wine Road and see the castle and terraced vineyards that inspired Dante when he came here in exile from Florence. I’ll take a ferry on Lake Iseo to the inland island, Monte Isola, where I can wander through chestnut forests, into Romanesque churches and the quiet fisherman’s village. And of course what delicious tastes there will be to pair with this bubbly. Visions of saffron risotto, sun-dried lake sardines, extraordinary Alpine cheeses…
I am ready for it,” I toast.
Stay tuned…
For more Franciacorta info: www.franciacorta.net
