Bellini cocktail recipe: how to make one of the best Italian cocktail

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Bellini is a cornerstone of the history of cocktails, one of the most refined, stylish and nifty drinks. However, the recipe is straightforward: mix some peach nectar with an excellent sparkling wine like Spumante or Champagne, and you can sip a bit of heaven.

The recipe is simple, ok, but ingenious: Spumante’s qualities like structure, minerality and rocky freshness find balance with the sumptuous flavor of the peaches: pure genius.

But beware, the secret for making a perfect Bellini are peaches, which have to be white, ripe, but above all crushed into a fine sieve to obtain peach nectar pure as the wings of an angel.

Do not even think for a second to use a trivial industrial juice. If you don’t have fresh peaches, find top-notch bottled peach nectar.

That’s it: just love and some great ingredients.

Historical note: the Bellini cocktail was born in Venice, 1948, on the occasion of a major exhibition of the famous painter Battista Bellini, by the brilliant mind of the immortal Giuseppe Cipriani, at the time owner and head barman of Harry’s Bar.

Bellini cocktail ingredients

• 5 cl of peach nectar
• 10 cl of sparkling wine or Champagne

How to prepare the perfect Bellini drink

As you can see from the ingredients, there is a 1 to 2 ratio, so for a balanced and not too strong drink, the sparkling wine must be present in a double amount compared to peach nectar. Keep this in mind if you want to prepare a bowl or pools of Bellini for brunches, happy hours and parties, where Bellini shines.

First of all, prepare the nectar: wash and peel the peaches, cut into wedges, place in a chinoise, and crush with a spoon to extract the nectar.

In a glass or a champagne flute, pour the peach nectar and fill gently with Spumante or Champagne.

Garnish with a slice of peach.

A little tip, if you prepare the nectar in advance, store it in an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator or it will oxidize immediately, losing much of its charm.

Bellini cocktail food pairings

The Bellini is the king of every brunch, party or elegant dinner. Pair it with fish and shrimps, white meats, finger food, spicy Indian food, bbq chicken wings, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara, paella mixta.

Sparkling cocktails you should try

French 75 cocktail, Spritz, Mimosa, Hugo cocktail, Pirlo, Champagne cocktail, Rossini, Tintoretto, Pino cocktail, Negroni Sbagliato.