Franciacorta was the first Italian sparkling wine produced exclusively by the Classic Method, or second fermentation in the bottle, to win, in 1995, official status as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). Today, the front label on the wine reads simply “Franciacorta”: this one term defines the growing area, the production method, and the wine. All of Europe boasts only 10 such privileged wines, and only three of them are made by refermentation in the bottle, Cava, Champagne, and Franciacorta.

The area’s venerable wine cellars, which today have transformed themselves into cathedrals of modern winemaking technology, proudly produce the four categories of Franciacorta sparkling wines, Millesimato, Rosé, Satèn, and Riserva, and Franciacorta’s still wines as well, Curtefranca DOC Bianco and Rosso and Sebino IGT.