Milan knows how to drink like Champagne without buying Champagne. Discover Franciacorta and the extreme, monorail-harvested Alpine reds of Valtellina.
What questions does this video answer?
How does Franciacorta rival Champagne using the traditional method?
Why does Franciacorta have stricter minimum lees-aging laws than Champagne?
What is “Satèn” and why is it bottled at a lower atmospheric pressure?
What is Chiavennasca and how is it related to Barolo’s Nebbiolo?
Why do winemakers in Valtellina need motorized monorails to harvest grapes?
About This Video:
Milan knows how to live luxuriously, and when it comes to sparkling wine, the locals don’t buy French Champagne. Just one hour east of the city, Franciacorta crafts world-class sparkling wine using the metodo classico (traditional method) on the glacial moraine hills of Lake Iseo. Earning DOCG status in 1995, Franciacorta enforces aging laws that put Champagne to shame: a minimum of 18 months on the lees for non-vintage, 30 months for vintage, and a massive 60 months for Riserva. Its signature style, Satèn, is bottled at just 4.5 atmospheres of pressure instead of the standard 6.0, creating a remarkably soft, silky, cream-like mousse.
Travel further north, and Lombardy turns vertical. In Valtellina, south-facing dry stone terraces scale the Alps toward the Swiss border. Here, extreme “heroic viticulture” requires steep slopes to be worked entirely by hand and motorized monorails. The grape is Chiavennasca—the local name for Nebbiolo. Trading Barolo’s heavy weight for ethereal perfume, rose petals, red cherry, tea leaf, and mountain herbs, it is one of Italy’s greatest hidden treasures. Lombardy keeps two distinct cellars: golden bubbles near Milan, and perfumed red wine clinging to an Alpine wall.
#franciacorta #valtellina #italianwine #sparklingwine #nebbiolo #bighammerwines
