Canella

A few weeks back I was introduced to Bellini Canella, a brand I had followed on social media but never had the pleasure to experience. As the Summer enters, I thought it was now appropriate to look into the Canella brand of Italy, and see if this is a worthy contender for drink of the Summer!

Canella itself starts in the year 1947 with Luciano Canella worked in his mothers family restaurant, touring the local farms for the freshest produce to use. With this knowledge, he starts creating Canella wines, resulting in other inns, restaurants and bars in the area starting to order. The first Canella winery is born via San Francesco at San Donà.

Travelling the world in 1958, Canella started to be enjoyed by the wealthy and famous, including the likes of Vittorio Gassman, one of Italy’s greatest ever actors, toasting with Tocai Canella at Ristorante Geremia, in Mestre. 1960 also saw a focus on branding, with Luciano creating a catchy design to stand out.

Back in 1962, Prosecco was not seen as a viable replacement to the big, hearty reds and whites, but Canella stuck at it, resulting in the popular position Prosecco enjoys itself in currently.

1988 saw the Bellini, a famous Venetian cocktail, become bottled for the first time and resulting in international exposure for Canella. In 1994, the Canella brand won a gold medal at the Gran Medaglia d’Oro – at Vinitaly’s first wine competition. In 2001, the municipal authorities of Venice and the Canella family shake hands over a new branding agreement: Canella Bellini proudly bears the city’s trademark emblem.

It’s the Bellini that I’m concentrating on here, with Rossini and Mimosa also available.

The bottle contains two parts sparkling wine, one part hand-picked white peach juice and pulp from select, ripe peaches and a few drops of wild raspberry, all originating from the Venetian countryside.

But how does it fare? Well below, I give to you my tasting notes –

Canella Bellini – 5%

Ripe peaches as expected on the nose, with a soft, sugar syrup aroma followed by oat biscuit. Smooth with a soft fizz on the palate, offering a slightly dry pulp of peach profile. Subtle sweetness underlines, with a lingering fresh peach flavour nearing the finish.

A refreshing, smooth offer for the late Summer evenings, with a recommended serve of 6-8° C. A cocktail in its own right, but with the freshness you’d be hard-pressed to have a bar or restaurant offer to you the consistency expected of such a classic cocktail. Although easy to make from scratch, the Canella Bellini is worth a look at for a bottle of cocktail to quickly open over ice!

© David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.