Contrary to common usage, there's nothing like real Champagne, the sparkling wine made in a delimited area in France. We'd suggest that there is also nothing like Franciacorta, the elegant and more affordable sparkling wine made in the Lombardy countryside an hour east of Milan. In fact, that city's fashionistas have been drinking a lot of Franciacorta for the last several days during Milan Fashion Week. The district has been growing grapes at least since the 16th century under the aegis of the region's monasteries. (The name of the region indicates a region of monasteries not subject to ducal taxes.) Serious spumante production is much more recent, dating from the years after World War II, and the big players are industrialists, not monks. That said,...Read More