Bellini
“White peach purée topped with Prosecco in a flute, 1:2 ratio. Venetian summer aperitivo.”
Where it comes from
Harry's Bar, Venice, 1948. Owner Giuseppe Cipriani named it after the pink robe in a Giovanni Bellini painting. Originally seasonal — only when Veneto white peaches were ripe, June through September — and only with the local Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene.
On the plate
Pale pink to peach-orange in a chilled flute, no ice. Soft peach perfume, Prosecco's apple-pear bubbles, almost no bitterness, 7% ABV. Drunk before lunch, never sweetened — the peach carries the sugar.
How it works
White peach (not yellow — yellow is too acidic and too aromatic) puréed and pressed through fine mesh, no sugar added. Stirred gently into chilled Prosecco — whisking flattens the bubbles immediately.
Cipriani's bottled version uses 30% white peach purée by volume; Harry's Bar still hand-purées daily in season. Yellow peach Bellinis exist on hotel menus worldwide, but Venice considers them a different drink.
Variations
Rossini swaps peach for strawberry, Tintoretto for pomegranate, Mimosa for orange juice — all Harry's Bar variants named after Venetian painters. Puccini uses mandarin and is winter-only.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
3 steps · Show ↓5 min active · 2 min waiting
How it's made
3 steps · Show ↓- 15 min
Purée 2 white peaches (peeled, pitted) until very smooth; pass through fine sieve.
- 21 min
Spoon 30 mL chilled purée into a flute.
- 31 min
Top slowly with 90 mL chilled Prosecco; stir once gently.
