Hello,
Recent scene: West Berlin, my go-to Italian place. An eager real estate broker at the next table orders a Franciacorta. "Italy's Champagne!" he announces to his dinner companion. I take a sip from my glass and smile quietly.
What's in my glass? Also sparkling wine from Franciacorta. But no Franciacorta.
Lost? Welcome to Antonio Tornincasa and Flavio Faliva's world. These two make sparkling wines so good they were refused the appellation. Too complex, apparently. Too singular.
They said thanks and walked away.
Wind of change
Cà del Vént – house of winds. Even the name hints that things are different here. While the major Franciacorta houses tend their vines down in the plains, Antonio climbs through steep terraces at 380 meters. Limestone, clay, dense loam. Winds that never stop sweeping the ridge.
2015, the tasting commission had their moment. Antonio's sparkling wines before them. The panel tasted, frowned. "Too rich. Too complex. Try again next year."
Antonio never went back.
What happens when you do everything differently?
700 grams of fruit per vine. Down in the plains they pull three times that. 56 months on lees. At least. The big houses ship after 18 months. Pas operé. Zero sugar at disgorgement. Only their own wine to top up.
Wine geek minutiae? Perhaps. But you taste the difference. Industrial Franciacorta tastes agreeable, predictable. Cà del Vént tastes like where it's from. Like wind and weather. Like time itself.
The wines that can't be
MFPC – poetry in code. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 56 months on lees. Wine with backbone.
Pensiero – pure Chardonnay, 46 months lees contact. The "lesser" sibling that's anything but.
Blanc de Blanc & Blanc de Noir – both 2017, both 59 months aged. Answering the question: what if?
The misconception
"Franciacorta is Italy's Champagne," goes the line. Franciacorta is Franciacorta. And there's the rub. The region has boxed itself in. Sweet-creamy, touch of brioche, safe.
Cà del Vént proves there's another way. These wines demand you pay attention. They speak of a place too windy for half-measures. Too steep for machines. Too small for industrial thinking.
Sometimes the best badge is the one you refuse to wear.
If you fancy sparkling wine that tastes of the wind of change – here you go.
Warmly from Berlin,
Mitya and the team at
Lebendige Weine
P.S.: The kicker? Now sommeliers from across Italy make the trek to Cellatica. To see what Franciacorta could have been.
P.P.S.: Serving notes: 8-10 degrees. Not arctic. These wines have things to say. The Zalto white wine glass works beautifully. We stock those too.