Cocktail recipe
Bellini
White peach and sparkling wine capture Venice at its most effortlessly elegant.
Ingredients
- 45 ml (1½ oz) chilled fresh white-peach purée, finely strained
- 135 ml (4½ oz) chilled dry Prosecco
- Garnish: none
Preparation
Chill both ingredients thoroughly before building. Spoon fine, ripe white-peach purée into the glass; add a small splash of Prosecco and gently fold to loosen the fruit. Pour the remaining wine down the side in stages, stirring only once or twice to preserve the bubbles. Serve immediately while the pale blush is still alive.
Glassware
Chilled small wine glass or flute; no ice
History
Giuseppe Cipriani of Harry’s Bar in Venice is firmly associated with the Bellini. Cipriani’s official history dates its creation to 1948 and says its name honours Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini. The drink originally showcased fresh seasonal white peaches and local sparkling wine, not peach schnapps. The precise year varies among retrospective accounts—some place it earlier—and the painter-colour story is a family/brand account rather than a contemporaneous creation record. The drink spread from Harry’s Bar into international hotel and brunch culture.
Mixology View
Two ingredients leave nowhere to hide. We follow Cipriani’s approximate three-parts-Prosecco-to-one-part-peach structure; use real ripe white peaches, not syrup or peach-flavoured vodka.