Antica Fratta - Giannikos Winery

ANTICA FRATTA is a great winery in Franciacorta. The Franciacorta is a hilly region between the city of Brescia and the south of Lake Iseo. To the south, the area is bordered by the mountain Monte Orfano (451m).

Like many of the world's great wine regions, the Franciacorta region results from a geological accident. It is located at the mouth of the Val Camonica, a river that was an outlet for the glaciers that covered the mountains during the last Ice Age. This caused an enormous amount of coarse calcareous sediment to accumulate. This now forms the basis for the top layer of the soil in much of the Franciacorta area.

These glaciers, in addition to the quality of the soil, have also ensured that Lake Iseo has formed in the heart of the Franciacorta area. This lake serves as a heat reservoir so that the summers are less hot and the winters less severe. This also contributes to an extremely suitable climate for growing the wine and to produce sparkling wines according to the traditional method (Franciacorta DOCG). The winemakers use Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco for this. The first two grapes must be at least 50% present. The minimum maturation is 25 months. As in Champagne, the white and red base wine is vinified separately.

The Antica Fratta Franciacortas are among the finest Italian Spumantes! The Franciacorta region is in Lombardia, Italy, on Lake Iseo and Antica Cantina Fratta is in the town of Monticelli Brusati.

This wine producer enjoyed an excellent reputation as far back as the mid-18th century. A salient detail is that the then owner and "Knight of the Holy Cross", Luigi Rossetti, had the cellars dug in the shape of a Greek cross, with a storage capacity of 6000 hl.

After the death of Luigi, the Cantina had several owners and was even empty for some time. In 1979 it was revived by the current owners and is restored to the former state of glory and quality.