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Bellini

Classic/vintage · Fruity (e.g. Pornstar Martini) · Hall of Fame and must know/try

4.2 60 ratings

Favorite

Ingredients

2 oz Prosecco
2 oz White peach purée
1/3 oz Peach schnapps
1/4 oz Lemon juice

How to make

Serve in a flute glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a FLUTE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of peach wedge.

Method

  1. 3 POUR prosecco into chilled glass.
  2. 4 SHAKE other ingredients with ice.
  3. 5 FINE STRAIN into prosecco-charged glass.

Garnish

  1. 6 Garnish with peach wedge on rim.

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Flavour profile

4.6% alc./vol. · 0.5 standard drinks · 105 calories

History

A blend of peaches and sparkling wine with lemon juice for balance. Peach schnapps boosts flavour. Switch prosecco to brut champagne for a drier drink.

The Bellini draws from the Italian tradition of marinating peaches in wine, blending prosecco with puréed white peaches. Giuseppe Cipriani created this drink in 1945 at Harry's Bar in Venice, fourteen years after opening his establishment near Piazza San Marco on the Grand Canal. Cipriani chose the name Bellini to honor the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini, inspired by the cocktail's rosy color and the artist's frequent use of rich pink tones in his work. Like many famous bars globally, Harry's Bar gained renown partly through visits from Ernest Hemingway, a prodigious drinker. It was also frequented by Sinclair Lewis, Orson Welles, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Dorothy Parker, and continues to attract notable figures today. However, access is not limited to celebrities; cocktail enthusiasts worldwide make pilgrimages to Harry's Bar to taste the original Bellini. In Italy, white peaches are available from May through September, leading Venetian bars that use only fresh purée to serve the Bellini between May and October. "In all these years, I have created only a couple of aperitifs that have then gone around the world. Once, in the summer, I mixed fresh peach juice with a good Prosecco from Conegliano, and I saw that all the customers liked it a lot. Since it was the year of the anthological exhibition of Giambellino, I called it Bellini. It has become a classic." Light, flavorful aperitifs are made with fruit juice and prosecco in a fixed ratio: "one-third juice and two-thirds prosecco." It is advisable to combine the ingredients in a carafe before serving, as mixing them directly in the glass might cause the fruit and prosecco to foam and overflow. The juice should be prepared fresh. Orange juice requires straining, but for peach juice (using white peaches) or grape juice, a standard potato masher is sufficient; a blender should not be used.

Created by Giuseppe Cipriani