Franciacorta sparkles - but does anybody care?

by Christine Parkinson

I finally got to visit Italy’s Franciacorta region recently. Hakkasan doesn’t actually list any Franciacorta, and no-one ever asks for it, but it’s a neat diversion en route to the Alto Adige from Milan airport, so I booked a hotel.

It’s certainly a beautiful area, with villages and vineyards scattered around Lake Iseo. When I found a free tourist wine map at the first bar I thought I was on to a winner. The map showed all the Franciacorta wineries plus a suggested route for a tour. Perfect, I thought. If only other wine regions could be this clued up.  

My plan was to do a ‘desgustazione’ at a selection of producers, large and small. I hoped for a quick overview, and possibly a few exciting wines. Unfortunately the local producers hadn’t read the script. Not a single winery we tried had a shop, or wines available for tasting. One producer said they would open, but only if a group of 30 people booked in advance. A couple of others said the local co-op might sell us some wine.

I’ve no idea why the local tourist office bothered to print a wine route. Most wineries just didn’t want to know. As it turned out, we found some really delicious wines, but only by systematically tasting through the winelists in all the local bars and restaurants. The best bottles were elegant, well-balanced and with lovely creamy character. The ‘saten’ style wines were particularly interesting. I might even have bought some, if only the producers had made any effort. Franciacorta sparkling wines are well worth tasting, and could work well on many wine lists, not least with dim sum at Yauatcha. Just don’t bother visiting the region!