Traditional-method sparkling DOCG from 1995, born in 1961 at Berlucchi, anchored at Erbusco
Italy's traditional-method sparkling DOCG in the moraine hills of Brescia, south of Lake Iseo, where Franco Ziliani made the first Italian bottle-fermented sparkling at Berlucchi in 1961 and over 100 producers now bottle Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco under the methode champenoise.
Every vineyard, tasting room, wine bar and cellar we cover in Franciacorta, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The iconic bottles that define Franciacorta.
Producer: ca-del-bosco
The reference Franciacorta Riserva, made only in declared vintages from oak-fermented base wines and aged over 84 months on lees in the underground Hall of the Wines at Erbusco.
Price: EUR 110 to 160 at retail
Producer: ca-del-bosco
The most-distributed Ca' del Bosco marquee Brut, released as a numbered Edizione each year and built on a multi-vintage reserve-wine library that anchors the house style.
Price: EUR 35 to 50 at retail
Producer: ca-del-bosco
The single-vintage Chardonnay Satèn of the Vintage Collection, a benchmark for the lower-pressure Franciacorta-only category created at the appellation's inception.
Price: EUR 55 to 75 at retail
Producer: ca-del-bosco
The undosed expression of the Vintage Collection, picked to show the chalky moraine-hill terroir of Erbusco without any liqueur d'expedition softening the finish.
Price: EUR 55 to 75 at retail
Producer: ca-del-bosco
Maurizio Zanella's flagship still red, a French-oak-matured Bordeaux blend bottled as IGT Sebino that anchors Ca' del Bosco's still-wine range alongside Pinéro.
Price: EUR 75 to 110 at retail
Producer: ca-del-bosco
The mono-varietal Pinot Nero that shows what the Franciacorta moraine hills can do as a still red rather than a sparkling base wine, IGT Sebino bottled at Erbusco.
Price: EUR 55 to 85 at retail
A handful of the estates we send friends to when they are in Franciacorta.
Founded in 1968 by Maurizio Zanella, who built a single house in a chestnut wood at Erbusco into a 253-hectare traditional-method sparkling cellar.
Signature: ca-del-bosco-cuvee-prestige, ca-del-bosco-annamaria-clementi, ca-del-bosco-vintage-collection-satèn, ca-del-bosco-vintage-collection-rose, ca-del-bosco-maurizio-zanella
Founded in 1977 by Vittorio Moretti, today led by his daughter Francesca Moretti as winemaker for the Terra Moretti Vino group. 209 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco across the moraine ridge above Erbusco; the cellar produces around 1.7 million bottles a year across 13 labels. Bellavista, Contadi Castaldi and the L'Albereta resort form the core Terra Moretti Franciacorta footprint.
Signature: bellavista-alma-cuvee-brut, bellavista-satèn, bellavista-pas-opere, bellavista-riserva-vittorio-moretti, bellavista-meraviglioso
Founded in 1961 when Franco Ziliani, then a young oenologist working for the Berlucchi family at Palazzo Lana, made the first Italian bottle-fermented sparkling on the Champagne method.
Signature: berlucchi-61-nature, berlucchi-61-rose, berlucchi-cuvee-imperiale-brut, berlucchi-palazzo-lana-riserva, berlucchi-max-rose
Founded in 1870, Barone Pizzini received ICEA organic certification in 1997. The 54 hectares are divided into 29 parcels across the Provaglio d'Iseo and Passirano hills.
Signature: barone-pizzini-animante, barone-pizzini-naturae, barone-pizzini-bagnadore-riserva, barone-pizzini-edizione, barone-pizzini-saten
Founded in 1836 when the Barboglio family inherited the centuries-old residence with its 16th-century wine cellars. Now in its fifth generation, the estate farms 42 organic-certified hectares across the Passirano and Camignone hills, including some of the appellation's oldest continuous Pinot Bianco plots and one of the original consortium-trial Erbamat parcels.
Signature: mosnel-qde-brut, mosnel-pas-dose, mosnel-saten, mosnel-ebb, mosnel-parosé
Roberto Gatti founded Ferghettina in 1991 after more than 20 years working in Franciacorta viticulture and winemaking. The estate has grown from 4 hectares to 200 organic-farmed hectares spread across 11 of the appellation's 19 municipalities. The flat-bottomed Milledì bottle is the cellar's design signature, designed to maximise lees contact.
Signature: ferghettina-brut, ferghettina-saten, ferghettina-milledi, ferghettina-riserva-33, ferghettina-rose
Hilltop village ringed by the appellation's flagship cellars, where the postcard Franciacorta view from the moraine ridge looks south across Ca' del Bosco's vineyards to the Po plain.
Working-cellar Franciacorta where the volumes are bigger than at Erbusco and the converted brickyards and warehouses house some of the appellation's most-distributed houses.
The historical-pivot village. Palazzo Lana Berlucchi at Borgonato is where Franco Ziliani made the first Italian bottle-fermented sparkling on the Champagne method in 1961.
Bornato Castle's medieval silhouette over Monte Rossa's hillside vines, with Antinori's only Lombard outpost just down the road at Calino.
Limestone-marl terroir on the steepest slopes of the DOCG, with old palazzi (Villa Franciacorta, Lo Sparviere's 16th-century country villa) housing the cellars.
Lakeside Franciacorta where Barone Pizzini's organic cellar borders the Torbiere wetland reserve and Bersi Serlini's 19th-century estate sits a kilometre away.
Peak wine-travel season in Franciacorta is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
If you only open one bottle, open Ca' del Bosco Annamaria Clementi Riserva by ca-del-bosco. It is the wine most associated with Franciacorta.