Franciacorta

It is unclear as to where the name 'Franciacorta' itself came from. There are two predominant myths as to where it originated: the first is that it is named for the 'france corte' or tax-free zones, which it encompassed. The area was inhabited by religious orders in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries that were not subjected to the taxes of the ruling Brescians. Historian Iacopo Malvezzi put forth the second myth. Malvezzi believes that the area was named by Carlo Magno, the King of France better known as Charlemagne or Charles Magne, who, in 744, while staging an attack with the Longobards found himself near the town of Rodengo Saiano on the feast day of San Dionigi. Magno had promised to spend that day in Paris. To alleviate his alining conscience, he called the area "little France", hence Franciacorta. Regardless of its origin, today, through the diligent dedication of the producers and their consortium, the name is synonymous with quality sparkling wines.

Franciacorta is a relatively small region encompassing only 18,000 hectares, with the actual vineyard areas being 1500 hectares distributed amongst 200 growers. The zone itself is bound on the west by the Oglio River, to the north by Lago Iseo and the eastern most portions of the Rhetic Alps, on the east by the morainic hills and on the south by the Bergamo-Brescia highway. Geologically the zone is a function of glacial activity, a huge glacier, which descended upon the Val Camonica, shaped it. As a result of this activity, there was deposited a large quantity of minerals, which sit atop the indigenous soil. Such minerals catalyze the biosynthetic reactions in viticulture, which are essential to aromas for instance. Likewise, these deposits are granular in structure, which is essential for drainage.