The Wine Pair Podcast

Sorry, Prosecco. Franciacorta is Italy’s Answer to Champagne!

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 157

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Don’t say we didn’t warn you - because once you try this wine, you may never go back to Prosecco! Don’t get us wrong. We like a nice Aperol spritz made with Prosecco, and Prosecco was the sparkling wine that opened our eyes to sparkling wine, but if you want a more elegant, interesting, and food friendly wine, Franciacorta cleans Prosecco’s clock! There is a reason that Franciacorta and not Prosecco is considered to be a competitor to Champagne. Made in the same method as Champagne (Prosecco is not) and from similar grapes (which, again, Prosecco is not), Franciacorta has a taste and mouthfeel that is unique and complex, and if there are some of you out there who just don’t get what all the fuss is about Champagne or about Prosecco, you may find that Franciacorta is the sparkling wine you have been waiting for. We cover what the similarities and differences are between Franciacorta, Champagne, and Prosecco, and this week, we found two great Franciacorta wines that are excellent options if you are curious and don’t want to break the bank. Wines reviewed in this episode: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut, Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut

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Show Notes

Episode 157: Sorry Prosecco. Franciacorta is Italy’s Answer to Champagne! 00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you are new to our podcast, here is a quick orientation! Each week, we explore a different wine varietal or blend — like Muller Thurgau or Cabernet Franc or Franciacorta — and dive into just what these wines are, what makes them special, and why finding new wines to learn about is so GD fun.  Our goal is to help you expand your wine knowledge in a fun way that is understandable and accessible to regular people, not just wine nerds!  We also taste and review 2-3 wines under $25 each, and share our scores and recommendations to help you find great wines without breaking the bank. So, thank you so much for joining us! And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.

It may be surprising to many of our listeners, as well as many wine lovers and even sparkling wine lovers that Italy’s answer to Champagne is NOT Prosecco, but rather the less well known, but much superior sparkling wine, called Franciacorta!

I know what you are all thinking - you love Prosecco, your family and friends love Prosecco, you get excited when you see Prosecco come out, you hardly know anyone who doesn’t like it, you love an Aperol or Campari Spritz, and because it is so inexpensive and plentiful, Prosecco is probably the wine that helped you fall in love with sparkling wine or Italian wine in general.

Now, we don’t mean to bust your bubbles (get it). We like Prosecco, too. But there are lots of Italian sparkling wines out there, several of which are, in our opinion, of better quality than Prosecco. 

The funny thing, too, is that you may know a number of other Italian sparkling wines, and you still have never heard of Franciacorta. The first sparkling wine we tried together as a couple was Asti Spumante, and that along with Moscato d’Asti are well known Italian wines, also inexpensive, and are sweet and fun . The other one you may know, which has a very mixed reputation, is Lambrusco, which is a fizzy red wine that can vary from sweet to dry. And there are several others like Ortugo, Zubbibo Bianco, and Trento, among many others. 

But Franciacorta is the GREAT Italian sparkling wine you have been missing out on, and it is said to even rival Champagne. At least Italians might say that. 

Before we talk about what Franciacorta is and why it matters, let’s do something that I think you are all wondering about, and that is, what is the difference exactly between Franciacorta and Prosecco exactly? Well, we are happy to oblige because there are some significant differences.

  • The first big difference is in how they are made. Franciacorta is made the same way Champagne is made, called the traditional or classic method, where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Prosecco is made in the much simpler and faster Charmat or Martinotti method where the second fermentation takes place in large pressurized tanks. 
  • Another big difference is in the grapes that are used. Franciacorta is made from similar grapes found in Champagne, and is Chardonnay heavy with Pinot Noir added in, but where Champagne will also often have Pinot Meunier added, Franciacorta allows Pinot Blanc and some grape called Erbamat. Prosecco on the other hand is made mostly from a grape called Glera - at least 85%. Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir are also allowed. 
  • Franciacorta has strict aging requirements, it must be aged at least 25 months before it can be released, while Prosecco has no aging requirements.
  • Franciacorta is made in much lower quantity than Prosecco, and is exported much less - they make about 20 million bottles a year of Franciacorta vs. 500 million for Prosecco (which is the most produced sparkling wine in the world), and only about 10% of Franciacorta is exported while about 75% of Prosecco is. 
  • Franciacorta is typically more expensive than Prosecco, and it is also generally a less sweet wine. If you didn’t know, most Prosecco is extra dry, which actually means on the sweet side for sparkling wine, versus Franciacorta which is usually brut and zero dosage.


So, now that we have that covered, and by the way you can find all of this information and more in our show notes - did you know we have show notes? - and we  have links to all of the sources we used for information in our show notes on the page for this episode on our website, it is now time to talk about Franciacorta in more depth and why it is considered Italy’s finest sparkling wine, and we have two Franciacorta wines to taste and review today and we’ll of course let you know if we think you should buy them . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

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And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note and tell us what you like and don’t like, if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com. A shout out to Christine T who sent us a Bordeaux wine she liked, and a shout out to Chris who is also here in Seattle who let us know about some Torrontes wines he recently had and liked, and the restaurants they are from, so now we have some fun places to check out!

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - your endorsement by word of mouth is just so valuable. This week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves Prosecco but needs to branch out, or anyone who thinks Prosecco is just not all that, and who would appreciate a more complex and carefully crafted sparkling wine that is just a bit off the beaten path. Because they may love Franciacorta!

RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE


Topic: WTF is Franciacorta? 10:46

So, Carmela, let’s find out just what the FUCK Franciacorta is. And, I should have mentioned this earlier, but the wine is spelled F - R- A - N - C - I - A - C - O - R - T - A and so we need to give you a super quick Italian pronunciation session because most people in the US get the Italian wrong. In Italian, when you see the letter C followed by an I or an E, the C is pronounced CH like in the work check, not like S as it is in English. So, just like you don’t say CappuSino, you do not say FranSiacorta. It is Franciacorta where the ci combination says CHEE.

Alright, now that that is out of the way, let’s do some learning. 

Did you know, Carmela, that there are many similarities between Franciacorta and Champagne. Like Champagne, Franciacorta can only come from a specific area, so the wine is named for the area, not the grapes. In this case, the wine is made in the Brescia province in the larger region of Lombardy. Lombardy is the region Milan is in as well.

The vineyards where the grapes that go into Franciacorta are grown are located between the southern shore of Lake Iseo and Brescia. Lake Iseo is actually between Lake Garda, which is a beautiful and underrated lake in northern Italy that we visited, and Lake Como. This area is close to the Alps, so the fact that there is a lake nearby and the Alps helps to regulate the temperature. And the soils are mineral rich in that area, which is good for wine grapes.

As we mentioned before, another similarity between Franciacorta and Champagne is the way the wines are made. Like Champagne, there is a base wine that is made first, that is fermented in stainless steel or wood tanks and made into a still, not sparkling, wine. Then, there is a blending process of the still wines, the blended wine is bottled with a bit of yeast and sometimes sugar added, and then the second fermentation takes place in the bottle to create the bubbles we all know and love. 

Carmela, did you know there are pretty strict aging requirements for Franciacorta? The most basic Franciacorta which is non-vintage, and the version you are most likely to find and buy, must age on the lees (which again is the dead yeast and other stuff from the fermentation process) for at least 18 months, and it can’t be released any earlier than 25 months after harvest. This is one of the reasons why it is more expensive than Prosecco - it is just a more involved process.

However, other variations of Franciacorta can spend more time on the lees. Vintage Franciacorta, called Millesimato, has to age for at least 30 months on the lees, and 85% of the grapes have to come from the vintage year on the bottle. Riserva has to spend at least 60 months on the lees - that’s 5 years! 

Here is another fun fact! Like Champagne, it can come in a variety of levels of sweetness, but most of the time you will find it brut or extra brut, meaning very dry, or low to now residual sugar. Which we like, and is very good with food. We also say that a brut sparkling is a great and underrated food wine.

I know this is one you were waiting for, Carmela, but Franciacorta has a DOCG designation, which is the highest quality rating recognized by the Italian government. Franciacorta is also  a relatively new wine and designation as well - it was first produced in 1950, and it was awarded a DOC designation in 1967. It was then was elevated to DOCG in 1995. Interestingly, it is the only Italian wine that does not have to declare its DOCG status on the label. Fun fact. 

Now, I am sure you were asking yourself, hey, there are a lot of similarities between Champagne and Franciacorta, but are there differences, too? There are a few differences between Champagne and Franciacorta that are interesting to know, in case you were curious. 

  1. The region Franciacorta is from is warmer than Champagne and has different soil, which can impact the flavor and acidity of the wine. 
  2. Franciacorta is often considered more fruity, riper, bigger, and floral than Champagne, and sometimes softer as well. Champagne is often considered more austere and has higher acidity. And I tend to like the more austere wines better, so this will be interesting. 
  3. Champagne has been around a lot longer and makes much more wine than Franciacorta (320 million bottles for Champagne), but Franciacorta has stricter aging rules. So there.
  4. While Franciacorta is less expensive than Champagne, it is not considered an inexpensive wine, although we have a few relatively inexpensive versions to taste and review today which, I will say again, we would have not been able to do if we had not increased our cap or ceiling for wines from $20 to $25. 


In general, though, Franciacorta is considered an elegant and complex wine.

So, on that note, I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Franciacorta Wines We Chose for This Episode 21:01

First, I have to say that the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $25 each on average, but one of them is much less expensive than the other. At least one of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought it on wine.com, and the other one I got at an online wine shop that I really like and is located here in the Seattle area called Garagiste, but they have limited runs of wines for sale, so you can’t get it there any more. However, you should be able to find this wine online or you can always ask your local wine shop to find it, or some Franciacorta, for you.

Franciacorta is not the easiest wine to find, but you should be able to find it at a shop that specializes in Italian wine or has a good Italian wine section, and when I see it on the menu at a restaurant, I usually jump on it. Just be ready that they may have no idea they have it on the menu, which happened to me a few months ago!

Let’s start with the less expensive wine, at least the one I got for a good price on Garagiste, and that is the Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut which has gotten several good ratings over the years from reputable reviewers like Wine Spectator, and less reputable ones like sucky James Suckling.

The tech sheet says this wine is a blend of 80% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Nero, which is the Italian way of saying Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Bianco. The wine was harvested in late August and early September, is soft pressed, which is kind, inoculated with selected yeast, fermented 20 days in stainless steel, and the wine goes through partial malolactic fermentation which is a process that reduces acidity, so this wine should be pretty smooth and round in the mouth. It is first aged for 7 months with part of the wine in stainless steel and part in barriques, which are small oak barrels. Then, the wine is bottled and aged on the lees for 20-26 months. 

There is not a ton else to tell you about the wine other than the winery was founded in 1987, and the building the winery is in is a converted brick firing furnace. Which is kind of cool. I  guess the Brescia area of Italy is known for manufacturing, or at least was known for that. 

The next wine we are going to taste and review is the Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut and this was the more expensive one, but also had a number of good reviews. The tech sheet for this wine says that it is 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir, so a bit of a different blend than the last, but still Chardonnay heavy. 

The winery says they gently press the grape clusters and then they say they fraction the must, which I had to look up. Fractioning, not must.  The simplest way I can explain it is that, during the pressing of the wine, there are different portions of juice that are extracted. For example, the first pressing of the grapes is called free-run, and this is considered the highest quality, and is the juice that is naturally released from the grapes. Kind of like olive oil. The next pressings, or fractions, require more pressure, and these pressings are where other compounds come out like color, tannins, etc. I have a link to an article in our show notes, but I digress. . . 

Back to the winery, they do the first fermentation in steel vats. Then in the spring after harvest, they blend the wines, and do the second bottle fermentation on the lees for a minimum of 24 months, and then another 2 months after disgorgement. 

This winery was an early producer of Franciacorta, and started making it in 1961, and they are considered one of the pioneers of the wine. 

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!

LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES



Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut, Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 28:02

Wine: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Italy, Franciacorta
Year: NV
Price: $14.91
Retailer: Garagiste
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: 80% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Nero, 10% Pinot Bianco
Professional Rating: JS 93, RP 90, WS 88, WE 85 Vivino 3.8

What we tasted and smelled in this Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut:

  • Color: Very bubbly, very effervescent, light pear color, very pretty, light gold
  • On the nose: Yeasty, Dove soap, apple, pear, apple pie, sweet pastry bread, brioche, vanilla, lemon
  • In the mouth: Refreshing, very fruity, apple, peach, melon, no bitterness, saline, stone, some roundness in the mouth


Food to pair with this Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut: Very versatile with food, brie in puff pastry, fondue, good with cheese, pesto, ricotta stuffed shells, lasagna with bechamel, stuffed chicken, pork and other white meats
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 9/10
  • Carmela: 9/10


Wine: Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: Italy, Franciacorta
Year: NV
Price: $29.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir
Professional Rating: V 90, WS 90, JS 90, WE 90 Vivino 4.0

What we tasted and smelled in this Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut:

  • Color: Champagne colored, frothy 
  • On the nose: Yeasty, soapy, Aveeno Body Wash, floral but not perfumey, melon, candied dried pineapple, vanilla Yankee Candle
  • In the mouth: A lot of lemon, a bit of roundness, lemon lime soda, Sprite, lemon Lifesaver, Lemonhead candy, very clean and almost no aftertaste  


Food to pair with this Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut: the lemony nature of the wine makes it a little less versatile than the first one, great with fish, seafood pasta, cheesy garlic bread, good with cheese

Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 8/10
  • Carmela: 8/10


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut
  • Joe: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut



Taste profiles expected from Franciacorta  41:05

  • General 
    • Lemon, white peach, pear, apple, white cherry, dried fruits, fig, floral aromas, brioche, toast, almond, hazelnut, creamy, salty
  • Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut
    • JS: Restrained almond, lemon leaf and citrus aromas follow through to the palate. The attack is soft, with a silky mousse, zesty acid and a lean body. Polished finish, silky and creamy, not without tension.
    • RP: It offers a classic Franciacorta bouquet with a bright citrusy element and crushed stone followed by lightly baked aromas of pastry and bread.
    • WE: Here's a bracing sparkler that has aromas of mature citrus fruit and toasted bread crust. The sharp, vigorous palate offers yellow-apple skin, bitter walnut, oak, and a slight confectionary note.
  • Berlucchi Franciacorta '61 Extra Brut
    • Winery: This fun and lively sparkler offers citrus fruit and a crisp, clean finish.
    • V: balances vivid Asian pear and lemon oil with an enriching hint of toasted brioche that nicely embellishes its bouquet. This is supple and pleasing with each sip.  A core of citrus-singed acidity balances its pleasant inner sweetness nuances of young peach and inner florals resonate throughout. It leaves the palate perfectly reset for another sip as nuances of almond paste and salty mineral linger
    • WE: Tart orchard fruits greet you the moment you pop the bottle. Elegant and pretty hints of citrus blossoms, lemon zest and freshly baked bread complete the nose. The palate is bright and focused with zesty lemon and green apple shining through with a long finish with a defined minerality at the end.


Franciacorta! Another “wow your friends” wine. You may never go back to Prosecco after drinking Franciacorta!


Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 44:55

Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast app - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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