Rovato, Lombardia, Italy
Franciacorta, designating the land between Brescia and Lake Iseo, appeared for the first time in 1277 (in reference to the curtes francae, a tax- and duty-free trade area) and it is one of northern Italy’s leading area for sophisticated, dry sparkling wines made by Traditional (Champenoise) method, austerely elegant sparklers with a fine, creamy mousse of bubbles.
Roughly square in shape, the Franciacorta region stretches eastwards for 15 miles from the Oglio river, which flows out from the lake, to the Mella river and the western suburbs of Brescia. The morainic origin of this area gives the soil an extraordinarily rich mineral content that, together with the variety of its components, determines the key factors for a high-quality viticulture, which can be fully appreciated in the sensorial characteristics of every Franciacorta.