Christmas and New Years’ Eve are just around the corner, and that means it’s the time to indulge in traditional Italian meals and sweets, combined with fine bubbly wines to celebrate the festivities in style.
All it takes is reaching the neighborhood of North Beach, where you can find everything to enjoy an authentic Natale, and visit the iconic restaurants “Mona Lisa” and “Colosseo” that will now serve their customers signature Italian sparkling wines from Franciacorta, a small hilly wine district at the southern shore of the Lombardy region.
In fact, the newly signed partnership with renown winery L’Archipelago Muratori, will bring their wines produced with metodo classico for the first time in California.
It all started in August, when San Francisco’s restaurateur Maurizio Florese and his wife Filomena, accompanied by long time friend Pasquale Buonfiglio, visited the azienda gricola L’Archipelago Muratori.
The two guests from San Francisco were received by Managers Marco Sgoifo and Giovanni Bresciani at Villa Crespia, headquarters of the winery which produces Classic Method sparkling wines exclusively, the so-called Franciacorta.
Thanks to this guided visit, the Florese family discovered the secrets of a farm located within the hills of Franciacorta, a well-known resort town between Lake Iseo and Lake Garda, which is famous throughout the world for the production of Bollicine, mainly sparkling and classic wines.
After an elegant wine tasting, they were professionally taught about the origins of the company and the four different estates where wines are produced: Villa Crespia for sparkling wine in Franciacorta (BS), Rubbia Colle in Livorno for red wine, Oppida Amidea in the Sannio Benevento for white wines, and Giardini Arimei located on the island of Ischia for dry passito.
Amazed by the familiarity and the especially high-quality products of the winery, Maurizio and Filomena expressed the desire for a future bond of cooperation with L’Archipelago Muratori, in order to bring their wines to San Francisco. They are convinced that these products will make a much better experience for their customers, and surely will have a huge success in California .
Franciacorta is well known for its sparkling wines of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir made by Metodo Franciacorta. The appellation gets its name from the village of Corte Franca, an area designated for tax-free trading during the Late Middle Ages. For the past 30 years, classic method sparkling wines from this region are becoming so popular that the name Franciacorta itself has become a synonym for these types of wines.
This unique enological tour was unforgettable for Maurizio and Filomena Florese, owners of well-known restaurants “Mona Lisa” and “Colosseo” for their cuisine and products from both Northern and Southern Italy. In fact, to keep everything authentic they select mainly Italian chefs from high quality restaurants in Italy. In addition to former Milanese chef Matteo Clivati, the new entry is Mattia Galiano from Scalea, Calabria.
It sounds like a perfect place to enjoy the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebration, while tasting traditional Italian dishes and having a toast with a glass of Franciacorta.
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