A Bellini is a

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

made with

Prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It ...

and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., apples ...

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

. It originated in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy.

History

The Bellini was invented sometime between 1934 and 1948Jo' Pratt
Food – Recipes – Bellini cocktail
Undated. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
Undated. GourmetSleuth.com. Retrieved February 5, 2007. by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. He named the drink the Bellini because its unique pink color reminded him of the toga of a saint in a painting by 15th-century Venetian artist

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

.Sicard, Cheri
Featured Cocktail – Bellini
. Undated. Fabulous Foods. Retrieved February 5, 2007. The drink started as a seasonal specialty at Harry's Bar. Later, it also became popular at the bar's New York counterpart. After an entrepreneurial Frenchman set up a business to ship fresh white peach purée to both locations, it became a year-round favorite. The Bellini is an

IBA Official Cocktail The IBA official cocktails are the cocktails selected by the International Bartenders Association (IBA) for use in the annual World Cocktail Competition (WCC) in bartending. List of cocktails IBA official cocktails are divided into three categor ...

. They also suggest a Puccini, replacing the peach purée with an equal amount of

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

juice; a

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, which uses

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

purée; or a Tintoretto, which is made with

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

juice.

Preparation and serving

The Bellini consists of puréed white peaches and

, an Italian

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

. Marinating fresh peaches in wine is an Italian tradition. The original recipe was made with a bit of raspberry or

cherry juice Cherry juice is a fruit juice consisting of the juice of cherries. It is consumed as a beverage and used as an ingredient in various foods, processed foods and beverages. It is also marketed as a health supplement. It is produced by hot- or co ...

to give the drink a pink glow. Due in part to the limited availability of both white peaches and Prosecco, several variations exist. California produces a white peach that works well,Featured Recipe: Peach Bellini Cocktail or Mocktail
Undated. ''Freshipes''. California Tree Fruit Agreement. Retrieved February 5, 2007. and yellow peaches or peach nectar can be substituted, especially if peaches are out of season and the flavor would be very bland. Other fruits or even flavoured

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

s (peach

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...

, for example) are sometimes substituted for the peach purée. The Cipriani family produces Bellini Base for the signature cocktail of the Harry's Bar restaurants. Other sparkling wines are commonly used in place of Prosecco, though richly flavored French champagne does not pair well with the light, fruity flavor of the Bellini. For a non-alcoholic version, sparkling juice or

seltzer Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

is used in place of the wine.Chiarello, Michael
Bellini Cocktail
, from the "Lazy Breakfast in Bed" episode of ''Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello''. Scripps Networks, Inc. Retrieved February 5, 2007.

Similar cocktails

The

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n Adalor cocktail is a drink calling for fresh peach smashed with a fork and topped with Champagne. It was published in a Cuban drink guide book in 1927. The Adalor cup is a similar punch drink made with "melocoton" from the 1930 book ''Manual Oficial'' of the Club De Cantineros from Cuba. Melocoton is a peach grafted on a quince rootstock.

References

{{Wine cocktails Italian alcoholic drinks Cocktails with peach Cocktails with Prosecco

History

Preparation and serving

Similar cocktails

See also

References