THE classic Bellini cocktail was created by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice in the 1930s. The original recipe was simplicity itself, made by adding Prosecco to peach puree in a chilled champagne flute.
Nowadays, you can add vermouth or schnapps or even a nice gin for your own twist on the classic. It’s a fun base to let your imagination run wild. You can also swap the peach puree for mandarins, strawberries or any other summery fruits that you can find.
This is a very versatile cocktail, lovely as an aperitif but equally at home with a special-occasion breakfast. And the fruit element means that you can chalk it up to one of your five a day.
To start, take two or three nice white peaches and zap them in a blender with a splash of sparkling water, or a nice vermouth if you feel inclined. You can use tinned peaches in their own juices if the fresh ones in the supermarket aren’t ripe enough. Then add the puree to your chilled flute and top up with a good quality Prosecco. Simple.
When choosing your fizz, find a good wine merchant who sells a lot of Prosecco the year round. The reason being, Prosecco is not designed to age and should be consumed ideally within a few months of release. Your merchant should be stocking up a few times a year to ensure you always have the latest release in your fridge.
Prosecco Barocco (Inverarity One to One, £9.49). This is classic Prosecco from the Glera grape in Veneto with just the right amount of fizz on the palate. Prosecco is made using the tank method as opposed to the Champagne method of getting the fizz into the glass. This method creates a more approachable, accessible wine that is perfect for any occasion.
Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow www.inverarity121.com
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