our dave has spent the last 4 days in lomardia , northern italy experiencing the fruits of the franciacorta region. in a nutshell, as champagne is to france and cava is to spain, so franciacorta is to Italy. this incredible sparkling wine is a relatively new kid on the block but is made with a passion and expertise that he hasn’t seen anywhere else in the world. made in the bottle in a process that can take anything from 24 – 72 months with the familiar grapes of chardonnay, pinot noir (nero) and pinot blanc (bianco), the wine is often pure and very modern in style. many young wine makers are experimenting alongside some seasoned vintners to produce stunning results. it’s not cheap, and we don’t mention prosecco in the same sentence as this wine is seriously”top drawer”. watch out for our listing from azienda agricola ferghettina very soon. some perfect bubbles for the Italian americas cup crew to celebrate coming in as runners up to ben ainslies british crew in the forthcoming july races here in portsmouth!