Franciacorta DOCG — Lombardy's Metodo Classico Sparkling Wine

The Consortium traces the name to the 'curtes francae', a duty-free trade area, and records that the name Franciacorta, for the land between Brescia and Lake Iseo, first appeared in 1277. In 1570 the Brescia-born physician Girolamo Conforti wrote his Libellus de vino mordaci describing the bubbly wines of the area. According to Berlucchi, the young winemaker Franco Ziliani suggested to Guido Berlucchi that they make a sparkling wine in the French style; the two joined forces with their friend Giorgio Lanciani, and in 1961 three thousand bottles of Pinot di Franciacorta were sealed. Franciacorta was granted DOC status by Presidential Decree in 1967. On 5 March 1990, 29 producers set up the voluntary Consortium for the protection of Franciacorta wine, the Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta, and in 1995 Franciacorta became, in the Consortium's words, 'the first Italian wine made with a second fermentation in the bottle' to achieve DOCG status.

• 1993: new production regulations required natural bottle fermentation as the only permitted sparkling method, Metodo Classico was removed from the label, and a compulsory grape production area was introduced (Consortium timeline)
• 1995: the Satèn trademark, which only Consortium members may use, was registered; on 1 January 1997 the first bottles with the DOCG state seal were released
• 2002: under EC Regulation 753/02, Franciacorta began to be designated by the word Franciacorta only, with no DOCG mention, on the grounds of its renown (Consortium timeline)
• 2008: new regulations for Franciacorta DOCG, Curtefranca DOC (replacing Terre di Franciacorta) and Sebino IGT were published in the Official Journal; in 2017 the regulations were amended to add the indigenous Erbamat

The Consortium places Franciacorta below Lake Iseo, between the River Oglio and the city of Brescia and north of Mt Orfano, in a moraine amphitheatre formed by a large glacier that moved down from the Camonica valley. The production rules bound the area to the east by the morainic hills of Rodengo, Ome, Gussago and Cellatica, to the north by the southern shore of Lake Iseo, to the west by the Oglio river and to the south by Mount Orfano. The Consortium describes the soils as sand- and silt-rich, typically poor in clay, often considerably thick and extremely permeable, and strewn with abundant stones. The climate is continental, but the lake has a mitigating effect on temperatures in both summer and winter, and climatologists class the area as an Insubrian meso-climatic region. In summer, cool breezes from the Camonica valley temper the heat of the plains.

• The production rules give annual rainfall of about 1,000 mm, 500 to 600 mm in the growing season, and 1,800 to 2,300 degree days on the Winkler index, depending on elevation, exposure and the influence of the lake
• The Consortium's zoning study, begun in 1992, produced a functional map of six units, ranging from deep fine deposits with poor drainage to shallow fine moraine with moderately rapid to rapid drainage and summer water stress
• In 2024 a map of the Franciacorta vineyards and zones by cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti led to the delimitation of Franciacorta's 134 zones (Consortium timeline)
• New and replanted vineyards must keep a buffer of at least 10 metres from watercourses and wetlands, and poorly sunlit or valley-floor land is excluded (disciplinare)

The disciplinare allows Chardonnay and/or Pinot Nero, with Pinot Bianco up to 50% and Erbamat up to 10%. The Consortium puts Chardonnay at over three quarters of the total area and Pinot Nero, the second most widespread vine, at about 17%, while Pinot Bianco is residual at 3% of the land. Erbamat, a white variety native to Brescia province, reaches full ripeness more than a month after Chardonnay and the Pinots, with high acidity. The Consortium says it was added to give greater identity through a deeper bond with the area and to mitigate the effects of climate change on early-ripening varieties, and it may be used in all types except Satèn. The disciplinare names three types, Franciacorta, Satèn and Rosé, each of which may also be made as a Millesimato (vintage) or a Riserva.

• Rosé: Pinot Nero at least 35% and Chardonnay at most 65%; the Consortium says it is made with Pinot Nero base wine as rosé or red wine, or as a blend with Chardonnay and/or Pinot Bianco base wines
• Satèn: Chardonnay at least 50% and Pinot Bianco up to 50%, a maximum of 20 g/l of sugar at the second fermentation, maximum pressure 5 atmospheres, and brut only
• Millesimato and Riserva must contain at least 85% wine of the stated vintage; Riserva is a Millesimato with at least 60 months on the lees and must show the vintage (disciplinare)
• The Consortium describes standard Franciacorta aromas of freshly baked bread and yeast with citrus, white-fleshed fruit, and dried fruit and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and dried figs

Guido Berlucchi S.p.A. of Borgonato, which its own site says was founded in 1955, relies on about 600 hectares of vineyards in Franciacorta, and its vineyards have been certified organic since 2016; the Consortium's listing says the winery is run by Franco Ziliani's children Cristina, Arturo and Paolo. Ca' del Bosco began when Annamaria Clementi Zanella, Maurizio Zanella's mother, bought 'Ca' del Bosc', a modest house in the hills of Erbusco with two hectares of land. It now farms about 281 hectares of vineyards organically, certified since 2014, and states that it joined the Gruppo Santa Margherita, headed by the Marzotto family, with Maurizio Zanella as President. Bellavista was founded by Vittorio Moretti in 1977, according to the Consortium, and belongs to the Terra Moretti group; Francesca Moretti, the family's winemaker, leads the team, supported by Richard Geoffroy.

• Guido Berlucchi: the historic cellar, dating to 1680 and ten metres underground, keeps the very first bottle of Franciacorta ever produced; Ziliani's children launched the Berlucchi '61, Berlucchi '61 Nature and Palazzo Lana Riserva lines (Berlucchi)
• Ca' del Bosco: the Annamaria Clementi, first made in 1979 as Franciacorta Vintage, took the name Cuvée Annamaria Clementi Reserve in 1989 and became a Zero Dosage with the 2008 vintage (Ca' del Bosco)
• Bellavista: the cuvées age in two kilometres of tunnels dug underground, and remuage is carried out mainly by hand (Bellavista)
• The Consortium's winery pages also cover Ricci Curbastro in Capriolo (founded in 1885 and made a modern winery in 1967), Ferghettina in Erbusco (founded by Roberto Gatti, first wines after the 1991 harvest, 200 hectares farmed organically) and Uberti, where Agostino Uberti became owner of a small farmhouse and vineyards at Salem in Erbusco in 1793, with the first harvest for Franciacorta in 1978 (Uberti)

The disciplinare reserves the name for wine made exclusively by second fermentation in bottle and separation from the lees by disgorging; filtration is not permitted. All vinification, tirage, bottle fermentation, disgorging and packaging must take place inside the production zone, with an exception for wineries in the San Pancrazio hamlet of Palazzolo sull'Oglio and in the municipalities only partly inside the zone. Grapes must be picked by hand into crates of no more than 0.2 t and pressed whole without destemming, except Pinot Nero vinified as rosé or red for Rosé. The minimum time on the lees runs from tirage to disgorging: 18 months for Franciacorta, 24 for Rosé and Satèn, 30 for the Millesimato versions and 60 for the Riserva versions, and tirage may not begin before 1 February after the harvest.

• Maximum yields: 10 tonnes of grapes per hectare and 65% grape to base wine; in climatically favourable years the Lombardy Region may allow up to 12 t/ha, with the base wine from grapes above 10 t/ha managed as a vintage reserve
• New and replanted vineyards need at least 4,500 vines per hectare (2,500 on terraces, steep slopes and for Erbamat), and any irrigation is banned after veraison in vineyards in full production
• Sweetness: Franciacorta and Rosé may be sold from dosaggio zero to demi-sec, Millesimato up to extra dry, Riserva up to brut, and every Satèn only as brut; the Consortium lists Pas Dosé at up to 3 g/l of sugar and Brut at less than 12 g/l
• The Consortium gives the harvest window as the first ten days of August to the first ten days of September, depending on the vintage; in 2026 picking began on 30 July in Gussago and Monte Orfano, the first time the harvest started in July

The Strada del Franciacorta wine route was set up in 2000 to promote and develop the area's tourist potential. The first Franciacorta Festival took place from 22 to 25 September 2000, and today the Festival del Franciacorta in Cantina runs in mid-September over two weekends, with wineries opening their doors for visits and tastings. Berlucchi offers guided tour and tasting experiences in its historic cellar, and Ca' del Bosco's tours lead through the old barrel rooms and caveaux to the Cupola at the heart of the winery, with a tasting included.

• Berlucchi's historic cellar dates to 1680 and lies ten metres underground, with Palazzo Lana standing above it
• Visitors walking the Ca' del Bosco cellar tunnels come face to face with sculptures
• From the seventies, producers held tasting events at the Convento dell'Annunciata on Mount Orfano, according to the Consortium
• Itinerant Franciacorta Festivals take producers' tasting tables to Italian cities such as Rome, Milan, Florence and Bologna

Primary sources (Consorzio per la tutela del Franciacorta, including the disciplinare, and producers' own sites for their own facts): https://franciacorta.wine/it/consorzio/disciplinare/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/consortium/regulations/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/region/origins-history/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/consortium/consortium-history/, https://franciacorta.wine/it/consorzio/dati/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/magazine/news/18-9-million-bottles-sold-and-a-global-vision-franciacorta-in-2025/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/geology-climate/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/method/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/vitigni-modello/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/zoning/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/franciacorta-saten/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/franciacorta-rose/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/franciacorta/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/franciacorta-millesimato/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/types-pairings/franciacorta-riserva/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wine/curtefranca/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/consortium/festivals-fairs/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/magazine/news/franciacorta-2026-harvest-begins-early-the-regions-expertise-in-responding-to-climate-change/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/berlucchi-guido/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/ca-del-bosco/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/bellavista/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/uberti/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/ricci-curbastro/, https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/ferghettina/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/origins-and-territory/the-encounter/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/group/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/origins-and-territory/people/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/origins-and-territory/the-berlucchi-vineyards/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/cellar-and-visits/the-historic-cellar/, https://www.berlucchi.it/en/wines/berlucchi-61/berlucchi-61-brut/, https://www.cadelbosco.com/en/identity/history-and-values/, https://www.cadelbosco.com/en/identity/viticulture/, https://www.cadelbosco.com/en/wine-categories/franciacorta-wines/cuvee-prestige-edizione/, https://www.cadelbosco.com/en/wine-categories/franciacorta-wines/annamaria-clementi/, https://www.cadelbosco.com/en/visit-the-cellar/, https://www.bellavista.it/en/the-collections/alma-assemblage/, https://www.bellavista.it/en/our-utopia/, https://www.bellavista.it/en/style/, https://www.bellavista.it/en/the-collections/the-vintages/, https://www.ubertivini.it/l-azienda-agricola.php, https://www.ubertivini.it/brut-francesco-primo.php, https://www.ubertivini.it/saten-magnificentia.php. Secondary: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/franciacorta-docg/. Last verified 2026-09-28