Franciacorta is a magnificent area in the province of Brescia, just south of Lago d'Iseo, a land composed of gently rolling hills made up of ancient glacial deposits. The origin of the name is still somewhat of a mystery. The name Franzacurta appears for the first time in documents of the 13th century; it probably refers to the tax-exempt status (franchae curtes) enjoyed by some of the villages of the area, which at that time were the property of the local Church entities.
The area as we see it today is the result of the retreat of glaciers from at least two glacial periods, the ancient Riss Glacial Stage and the more recent (80,000 years ago) Würm Stage. The sediments flowed down the Val Camonica, scraped out the bed of the Sebino (modern Lago d'Iseo), then built up at the edge of the plain, creating the morainic hills of Franciacorta. The distinctive characteristics of the Sebino glacial soils are due to the incredibly rich mineral deposits leached from the local rocks, a fundamental reason for Franciacorta's agricultural pre-eminence.
Another important factor is a uniquely favourable climate. The cold winds blowing out of the Val Camonica are tempered by the lake and by the low-lying hills around its shores. The winds that do come off the lake effectively prevent the formation of mist during the winter, as well as excessive humidity during the spring and summer.
All of these conditions merge to shape the inherently high-quality wine grown in the vineyards cladding these hills, essential components in the integration of terroir, wine, and grapegrower.
Franciacorta was one of Italy's first viticultural areas to apply for DOC status, in 1967, and in 1995 it became the first classic method DOCG. The Franciacorta DOCG Production Code imposes an extremely rigorous procedure and a much longer bottle-ageing than any other similar product in the world. Produced exclusively from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir grapes locally-grown at very low vineyard yields, the regular Franciacorta requires a minimum of 25 months' maturation from the harvest, while the vintage-dated version is given 37 months, and the riserva 60 months.