drink different - franciacorta

February is the month we delight our true loves with something bubbly on Valentine’s Day.  With the soaring price of Champagne, many of us are familiar with the less wallet-busting alternative Cava, made in the Penedes region of Spain from (amongst others) the Champagne grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Why not surprise your loved one with something less familiar?  Franciacorta, from near Verona in northern Italy, produces sparkling wines remarkably similar in style to Champagne and Cava – mainly because it is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and by the same in-bottle secondary fermentation method (the so-called ‘Champagne method’).

Crisp, elegant, and with that toasty yeastiness which gives the best sparklers their character, Franciacorta will delight and surprise the wine drinker searching for something truly different.