Franciacorta

The name has a medieval origin and derives from Franchae Curtes, or “free court,” meaning land exempted from paying taxes.

In contrast to Champagne, which is required to age at least 9 months “sur lie”, Franciacorta must spend 18-24 months in this phase. This produces much softer tastes as simple alcohols ferment further into different, more complex molecules.

Of course, many if not all good champagne’s will also spend at least 12 or 18 months “sur lie”. The best ones are given up to 10 years!