After a sort of spontaneous Italian style “pub crawl” including one free aperitivo after another, I found my winner for the wine of the week! Why was I offered all these happy hour beverages you ask? An unexpected perk of working at a winery.My offer to hand deliver their Christmas cards to the local restaurants and bars actually paid off and Claudio and I ended up drinking and eating for free all night. So after all this wine (especially festive bubbles) the winner is…

 

DERBUSCO CIVES – FRANCIACORTA BRUT 2007

Like trying on wedding dresses, the first one is always the best! When a sparkling Metodo Classico wine like this has a vintage on it, it means it is coming from a year which was particularly good. This is called a “millesimato” in Italian and it enraptured me.

WHY WAS THIS MY FAVORITE?
  1. A part from the fact that I LOVE FRANCIACORTA (Italy’s champagne), this one was especially delicate but intriguing with fruity aromas on the nose with of course that crusty bread fragrance that comes along with these wines.
  2. Secondly, we were poured glass after glass of this with seafood tapas including bruschetta with grouper fish cheek meat (sounds better in Italian: Guanciale di Cernia) with tomatoes and capers! The second round was paired with fresh oysters by the very generous guy behind the bar, John! This was the first time I came to La Bula, a new entry in Bra. With an exclusive fish menu and class, this is exactly what the town needed. We thank them for showing us incredible hospitality, and serving us delicious food and wines all in the perfect ambience.
  3. I must admit, I love the bottle shape too!
WINE FACTS:
  • GRAPE VARIETY – 100 % Chardonnay
  • AGING – Free-run Chardonnay aged in barriques and evolves on the yeasts in the bottle for at least 44 months!
  • WINERYDerbusco Cives located in Erbusco, the heart of the Franciacorta area in Lombardy
  • PRICE – Approx. 30 €
So I hope this inspires you to check out some Franciacorta and pop one open for your holiday parties!
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