Oh, the Joy, Berlucchi Bubbles! In this context, I mean Berlucchi ’61 Extra Brut sparkling wine from Franciacorta DOC, in Lombardy, Italy.
Lively, effervescent, with bright acidity, this sparkler from Berlucci is classic. We visited a few years ago, attending a Franciacorta wine festival on the town square in Brescia. It was one of the highlights of our wine travels in Northwest Italy. This is a chardonnay-based sparkling wine, medium-bodied with a medium-long finish. The wine spent two years on the lees before secondary fermentation in the bottle.
The Berlucci brand was one of the first to produce traditional method sparkling wine in Lombardy, and contributed to an official DOC designation for Franciacorta in 1967. This is an excellent wine worth seeking out. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve pairing with oysters, salmon spread, and crab cakes; really any seafood pairing will excel with this wine. Think of the Berlucchi brand and sparkling wines as Italy’s counterpoint to Champagne.