Guido Berlucchi 2021: 60 years for Franciacorta and 90 for its creator, Franco Ziliani

Palazzo Lana in the 1950s, on the notes of “Georgia on my mind”, which Count Guido Berlucchi is playing on the piano in his elegant and prestigious 16th century residence. The Count asks a young winemaker how to improve his “unstable white wine” produced in his historic winery with grapes from the “clos” vineyard located under the small manor of Borgonato, a farming village positioned as the “lookout” of the territory, above Lake Iseo. “What if we also made a sparkling wine like the French do?” was Franco Ziliani’s response, who, a few years later, in 1961, sealed the first 3.000 bottles of Pinot di Franciacorta. It marks the birth of a type of wine created “ex novo” and of one of the most suitable territories in the world for the classic method of sparkling wines. 60 years have gone by and Guido Berlucchi is celebrating its historic anniversary now, in 2021, “the year that we really hope there will be a rebirth for everyone”. Simultaneously, one of the “founding fathers” of modern Italian winemaking, Ziliani, is celebrating his 90 years.
A series of projects and initiatives are planned for the double celebration, promoted by the brand that today is led by the second generation of the Ziliani brothers, Cristina, Paolo and Arturo (who have brought Palazzo Lana Extreme 2009 to the top for world critics with the highest score ever achieved by a Franciacorta sparkling, 93/100 from “Wine Spectator”). One of the projects is the Berlucchi Academy, which will open to Franciacorta and its culture, and is also a place to exchange knowledge that will become an active project subject for the entire territory. It will open to sustainability with the second edition of the 2020 Sustainability Report, a benchmark for the entire Denomination. There will be a special Franco Ziliani limited “edition” in Magnum format of the “milestone wine” to the delight of collectors, Franciacorta ‘61 Nature, based on Pinot Noir obtained from the wine estates, 96 months on the lees (and restyling the Cuvée Imperiale Line that made the winery famous). And, the highlight event at Palazzo Lana, whose wine cellars still hold the real “treasure”: the first bottle of Franciacorta 1961.