Wine and gastronomy of Franciacorta
Big surprises await those who want to discover the flavors of local cuisine and products.
The territory satisfies any need, associating the gastronomic tradition with novelties and reinterpretations with an overall result of great quality and variety.
Agriculture and livestock still constitute an important economic sector.
The discovery of ancient water mills and the constant presence of polenta in the basic diet of the time testify to the importance of corn cultivation, now relaunched with the production of the typical Castegnato flour.
The wine production is exceptional: the Franciacorta brands are synonymous with recognized and certified high quality thanks to the rigorous methods of grape selection and vinification.
In recent years we have witnessed the development of a growing food and wine tourism and more and more tourists populate the route of the “Strada del Vino Franciacorta” which touches numerous towns in the area, also rich from a historical-artistic point of view, and leads to the discovery of renowned wineries.
To visit some agricultural and wine museums in the area, to retrace the history of local viticulture.
Oil production is also becoming increasingly important; particularly practiced in the lake area, it boasts important awards such as the DOP mark.
Cattle and sheep breeding, especially in the uplands, leads to the production of butter and numerous varieties of cheeses, among which the Silter camuno-sebino and the Casolet of the Marone and Zone huts stand out.
The numerous farms also breed other animal species, horses, pigs, poultry, often associating beekeeping and the cultivation of small fruits and vegetables.
The result is a thriving offer of agri-food products, including organic ones: honey and jams or more simply fresh fruits, various kinds of cold cuts: from salami and it is worth mentioning that of Monte Isola produced mainly in the hamlet of Cure and characterized by a slight hint of smoked, to traditional hams the hunters and pancetta.
Also typical is the chestnut harvest with the sale of fresh fruits, dried or transformed into flour for delicious desserts.
Alongside the products of the land, the lake offers many varieties of fish: char, aole, whitefish, eels, tench are the main ones; but there is no shortage of rare lake trout, fierce pike, rare freshwater crayfish.
A particular treatment is carried out for rudds, chub and agoni, the characteristic “lake sardines”, which first dried in the sun are then put in oil following a centuries-old tradition born when the need for proteins could not have access to refrigerators and freezers.
Restaurants, trattorias and agritourism farms to a truly exceptional extent compared to the territory offer soups, fresh pasta and tasty tripe among the first courses.
Among the second courses we mention the beef with Rovato oil, the stuffed tench from Clusane, as well as the skewers and roasts strictly accompanied by a steaming polenta.
The cheeses are also tasty (the hard toasted ones are excellent), all accompanied by the DOCG and DOC wines of Franciacorta.
To conclude, the desserts, from the simplest made with a mixture of sugar, eggs, flour and butter, such as the spongada, to the more complex and caloric ones, including chisöi.
After the meal it is the turn of refined dessert wines and spirits, young or aged and sometimes born from the distillation of the same Franciacorta wines.
