FRANCIACORTA
Franciacorta is a small wine-producing area in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the Brescia province, in the hills immediately south-east of the foot of Lake Iseo. It is famous for its high-quality sparkling wines. The wines are made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc grapes and they comes in both non-vintage and vintage forms; the standard white is complemented by a rosé version. There is also a “blanc de blancs” equivalent called “Franciacorta Satèn”. Tasting notes for Franciacorta wines sound remarkably like those of their Champagne equivalents, with frequent references to biscuit, brioche, lemon and lees.
Franciacorta wines go very well with cold cuts: the delicate sweetness of raw ham, mortadella, bresaola and speck (just to mention a few) is incredibly enhanced by the flavor and freshness of a product like Franciacorta. Then, if the cold cuts are accompanied by canapés and bruschetta enriched with eggs, vegetables and creamy and delicate or stretched curd cheeses, such as stracchino, provola and mozzarella, the result is even tastier. Franciacorta can be paired with fish, such as sea bass baked in foil, roasted eel fillets, monkfish au gratin, sea bass fillets with mushrooms, perch fillets or sole alla mugnaia and salmon fillets with mustard.
