This Sparkling Wine Is the Newest In-Demand Bubbly

Skip the champagne—there’s even cooler bubbly stuff to pop: the sparkling wines of Franciacorta, Italy. We asked Laura Gatti, winemaker at the area’s Ferghettina winery, to spill the details.

“Franciacorta is a small wine region in Lombardy, about a one-hour drive from Milan. The alpine climate and diversity in the soil result in a wide range of Franciacorta wines offering vibrant fruit and rich minerality. These wines are made in the classic method, produced with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Bianco grapes."

"A slow re-fermentation in the bottle and a long refining in contact with yeast result in a refreshing-yet-complex wine," she continues. "Franciacorta is a lesser-known region compared with Champagne, so Franciacorta is the sparkling you order if you’re in the know or want to try something new and unexpected.”