Fratelli Berlucchi Tour & Prosecco Tasting in Italy
Fratelli Berlucchi Tour & Prosecco Tasting in Italy
Fratelli Berlucchi Tour & Prosecco Tasting
WJ Tested: Insight Vacations Italian Escapade Tour – Day 7: An included excursion to Italy’s prosecco region while en-route between Lake Maggiore and Verona.
The first stop of the morning on our Insight Vacations Italian Escapade tour was at Fratelli Berlucchi Estate in Franciacorta. Here we took a tour of the cellar and bottling equipment (to learn all about the making of Prosecco) before sampling the final product.
Italy’s premier wine region for quality sparkling wine made in the traditional method is Franciacorta.
With the Dolomite mountains in the distance, the lush and vibrant green rolling countryside all around was dotted with country estates and vineyards.
Fratelli Berlucchi in Franciacorta
Prosecco – Did You Know?
Steel Tanks at Fratelli Berlucchi
- Italian sparkling white wine = Prosecco
- 6 months from harvest to going in the bottle
- Spends 30 months in the bottle
- Ingredients: yeast, wine, sugar – yeast eats sugar and creates gas (bubbles) during fermentation process
- Workers wear protective masks when riddling bottles (could blow the cork)
- Riddling bottles is to get the sediment/deposit out
- Put bottles in racks to turn and then remove deposit
- The neck of the bottle is frozen in order to remove the sediment
- The natural pressure sends sediment (in the form of an ice cube) out
- The bottle is then topped up with sparkling wine
- Prosecco is produced by 120 family run firms of various sizes
- The Franciacorta area is famous for Vino Rosso (from the 1500s)
- Franciacorta area makes red wine, white wine and prosecco
Tour of Fratelli Berlucchi Cellar
Tour of Fratelli Berlucchi Cellar
Tour of Fratelli Berlucchi Cellar
Fratelli Berlucchi Vineyards – Did You Know?
Fratelli Berlucchi Frescoes in Cellar
- Fratelli Berlucchi has the only cantina (cellar) in Italy with a 15th century fresco (it depicts a wedding)
- They make two red varietals – Pinot and Chardonnay
- Carefully control temperature of all wines – especially important during fermentation
- Their wine is stored in large steel tanks
- Their estate courtyard is traditional of the Lombardi region
- They have between 50,000 and 60,000 bottles in their cellar
Fratelli Berlucchi Frescoes in Cellar
Fratelli Berlucchi Frescoes in Cellar
Wine Terms – Did You Know?
- DOC means a particular area
- DOCG is very top label wine
Fratelli Berlucchi History
Following our tour of the cellar and bottling equipment we were treated to a tasting of two samples – Chardonnay 25 and Rose.
Tasting Prosecco at Fratelli Berlucchi in Italy
Fratelli Berlucchi Rosé has 30% Pinot Nero
Fratelli Berlucchi Prosecco
To accompany the prosecco were plates of antipasti with salami, cheese and a spinach pastry.
Antipasti Samples
Touring Fratelli Berlucchi Vineyard in Italy
Touring Fratelli Berlucchi Vineyard in Italy
Fratelli Berlucchi Vineyard in Italy
Next… Onwards to Verona!
Previous: Insight Vacations Italian Escapade – | Tour Overview | Meet and Greet in Rome! | Rome with Local Historian | Skip the Lines – Vatican Museums | Siena | Florence & Michelangelo’s David | Florence to Pisa | Exploring Baveno and Stresa on Lake Maggiore |
If You Go:
Note: WAVEJourney were guests of Insight Vacations for their April 30 – May 12, 2013 Italian Escapade tour. Read our full disclosure statement to see that this has no effect on our reviews.
