Fact Sheet

[BEH-LEANY]

Location: San Donà di Piave, Province of Venice. Veneto, Italy.

The story of Bellini begins in Venice, in the legendary setting of a world-famous artists’ café. One day in 1948, its owner decided to mix the fruity joy of perfect white peaches, the grapy sparkle of Prosecco spumante, and a whisper of wild raspberries. He called this Bellini for he loved music, and shared it with the many celebrities frequenting his bar. One of them — possibly the greatest American writer of the twentieth century — liked the cocktail so much he mentioned it in his books, and made Bellini a household word. It was not long before cocktail lovers and connoisseurs the world over knew the Bellini formula: two thirds Prosecco sparkling wine from the hills north of Venice, one third white peach juice with fresh fruit pulp, a few drops of raspberry juice. Yet how many bartenders or consumers actually have these exact ingredients available? Most Bellini cocktails you will find “fresh-made” actually employ lesser components. For many years, the one and only true Bellini was sipped in Venice. Until, four decades after it was invented, Italy’s award-winning Prosecco grower, Canella (also a Neil Empson Selection), took up the difficult challenge of producing the famous Venetian cocktail to satisfy its numerous world-wide fans, yet maintain the freshness and delicacy of the original recipe.

After years of research and experiments, the Canella family accomplished exactly what they had envisioned: capturing a magical Venetian instant in a bottle! Then in the spring of 2003, “Bellini by Riedel” was born. This elegant crystal flûte resulted from an in-depth workshop at the home of Austria’s master glassmakers. The workshop was conducted by Georg Riedel himself with the Canellas, and aimed at tasting Bellini in the best way possible – that is, in the most appropriate glass. Riedel and Canella unanimously chose the winner, whose distinctive shape indicates the exact pouring level and then closes in on itself, thus concentrating all the aromas of Bellini’s bouquet to the utmost – particularly the cocktail’s most fragrant and typical ingredient: rare, perfectly ripe white peaches.