MY PERFECT DAY IN FRANCIACORTA
MORNING
Wherever I’m sleeping in Franciacorta, I have breakfast at Pasticceria Roberto
(pasticceriaroberto.com) in Erbusco. The pastries and buns are excellent, including the cloud-light brioche veneziana (filled with crème pâtissière). For extra calories, try the cappuccino della nonna, enriched with egg. I’m happiest with a spremuta d’arancia, freshly squeezed orange juice. From there, it’s a short drive to visit the most historic winery in Franciacorta,
Guido Berlucchi (berlucchi.it). At its heart is the handsome 17th-century palazzo where, in 1961, the first 3,000 bottles of a sparkling wine ‘in the French style’ were made by Franco Ziliani. Today, awardwinning wines are still made by the Ziliani family and aged in the palazzo’s imposing underground cellars.
LUNCH & AFTERNOON
Lunch is on the spectacular terrace of
Albereta Relais (albereta.it). Once the working home of the late great Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi, the kitchen has maintained the maestro’s focus on clean flavours and excellent ingredients and technique, even if the menu has been internationalised. If you, like me, love organic wines and heroic viticulture, the two young owners of Corte Fusia winery
(cortefusia.com) focus on reclaiming abandoned hillside vineyards from which they make characterful wines, and you can arrange to walk with them in their sloping, rocky vineyards on Monte Orfano with views over the Po valley before a tasting in their courtyard headquarters. From there it’s a short hop to the cellars of 1701 (1701franciacorta.it). Silvia and Federico Stefini’s cellars may be less picturesque, but their biodynamic viticulture and winemaking (for some of their wines) in large Italian clay jars makes this a must for natural wine lovers. You can also visit their large walled vineyard.
EVENING
I’ve saved room for dinner at my favourite traditional trattoria in Palazzolo sull’Oglio. Award-winning Osteria della Villetta
(osteriadellavilletta.it), which dates back to 1900, is a classic: family-run, hospitable and fairly priced. Sample wonderful home cooking and selected local wines at wooden tables in rooms that are rich in atmosphere. Just nearby I’ll happily retire to Cappuccini Resort (cappuccini.it). The former 18th-century monastery was completely abandoned until Rosalba Tonelli Pelizzari lovingly restored it – with her own artistic style – and now includes 14 rooms, terraced gardens, a restaurant and a uniquely picturesque spa.
The hope is to produce even more distinctive wines from Erbamat in the future.
Pierluigi Villa, of Santa Lucia winery (santaluciafranciacorta.it), is another fan of Erbamat and has played a central role in its recent history. An ampelographer by profession (one who studies and classifies grape vines), he studied local grapes in Brescia and helped to classify the variety. He even makes small quantities of a pure Erbamat sparkling wine. ‘This grape’s natural higher acidity means we can let it ripen longer than Chardonnay and make wines that can’t be mistaken for any other part of the world.’
Impressively, 80% of Franciacorta’s vineyards are now being grown organically. That includes those of the trendsetting Ca’ del Bosco (cadelbosco.com), where huge investment has produced a modernist cellar and sculpture park that shouldn’t be missed by fans of modern art.
While the biggest estates boast showstopping cellars and landscaped gardens, it’s visits to the smaller, family-run estates that are the most illuminating about the Italian way of life. Giuliana Cenci and her son Maurizio Bassi live in an 18th-century cascina, or country farmhouse, Vigneti Cenci (vigneticenci.com), on the slopes of Monte Orfano. Its courtyard, with shaded tables and overhanging vine pergola, is the perfect place to taste their wines after a walk into the vineyards to see the views. ‘My father started out making still wines but realised that the sparkling wines made here were more exceptional,’ says Cenci. ‘We’re carrying on that tradition and offering the hospitality that makes Franciacorta so special.’