Berlucchi is an iconic house and pioneer in Italy: it was the first winery to release a metodo classico Franciacorta in the 60’s. Berlucchi is also the most powerful premium sparkling wine brand in Italy. The name Franciacorta comes from the terms Francae Curtes, name given during the feudal period to the communities of French Benedictine monks who settled in the region to cultivate the vine. These communities were exempted from the princely taxes in exchange for their services. Francae Curtes (franc de taxe in French) therefore means free of taxes. It then evolved through time to the Italian version Franciacorta.
Berlucchi’s vineyards, now totally converting to organic viticulture, cover over 500 hectares, between estate vineyards and those in the hands of trusted, long-term growers. The estate vineyards were completely re-planted in the late 1990s. Today, high-density planting, spurred-cordon training, precision cover-cropping, and pre-harvest cluster-thinning yield clusters that are few in number but of the highest quality, outstanding foundations for producing a great Franciacorta.
