The Exquisite History of the Bellini Cocktail

The enchanting story of the Bellini cocktail begins in the romantic city of Venice, Italy, in the 1940s. It was Giuseppe Cipriani, the visionary founder of the legendary Harry’s Bar, who is credited with its invention. Cipriani, a true artist in his own right, drew inspiration for the cocktail’s name and its signature peachy hue from a painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini. In Bellini’s artwork, the vibrant peach color of a saint’s toga struck Cipriani, perfectly mirroring the delicate shade of his new creation.

Harry’s Bar, already a renowned establishment, gained even more international fame when it opened a sister location in New York City. This expansion played a crucial role in popularizing the Bellini cocktail across the United States, transforming it from a Venetian secret into a global sensation. Today, the Bellini remains a beloved drink enjoyed year-round, a testament to its enduring charm and refreshing taste.

Traditionally, an authentic Bellini is crafted with white peaches and Prosecco, an Italian sparkling dry wine. A tiny dash of raspberry or cherry juice was often added to enhance its distinctive rosy-peach color. However, white peaches can be notoriously difficult to find outside of specific growing regions and seasons due to their delicate nature and poor transportability. This scarcity has led to many delightful adaptations of the original recipe, allowing enthusiasts worldwide to enjoy this iconic drink with more readily available ingredients.

This particular recipe has been thoughtfully adapted from the acclaimed book “What’s a Hostess to Do” by Susan Spungen, ensuring a reliable and delicious result every time.

Essential Ingredients for Your Homemade Bellini with Fresh Peaches

Creating a luscious Bellini cocktail with peach puree requires just a few key ingredients. The precise quantities can be found in the comprehensive recipe card located at the bottom of this blog post. For now, let’s delve into what makes each component so crucial to the perfect Bellini:

• Peaches: The Heart of the Bellini

  For a truly traditional Bellini, white peach puree is the gold standard. Connoisseurs often claim that white peaches possess the most exquisite flavor among all peach varieties. However, their delicate nature makes them challenging to transport and widely distribute. If white peaches are elusive in your region, don’t despair! Using fresh, ripe yellow peaches during their peak season will still yield a wonderfully flavorful cocktail. Avoid canned peaches in syrup, as they introduce an overly sweet and artificial taste that detracts from the Bellini’s fresh essence. If peach season is completely over and you’re craving a sparkling fruit cocktail, consider making a Mimosa, where peach puree is elegantly swapped for fresh orange juice.

• Lemon Juice: The Brightening Agent

  A small amount of fresh lemon juice is not just for flavor; it serves a crucial practical purpose in your peach puree. By mixing just one tablespoon of lemon juice with your pureed peaches, you prevent them from oxidizing and turning brown. This ensures your peach puree maintains its beautiful, vibrant color, making your Bellini visually stunning as well as delicious. Store the prepared peach puree in the refrigerator and aim to use it the same day for optimal freshness and appearance.

• Prosecco: The Italian Sparkle

  Prosecco is the quintessential sparkling white wine for a Bellini. Hailing from Italy, it’s known for its crisp, dry, and often fruity notes, making it an ideal companion for the sweet peach puree. Always serve Prosecco thoroughly chilled to maintain its effervescence and refreshing qualities. While traditionally a dry wine (most commonly “Brut”), there are also “Extra Dry” and “Dry” varieties which are slightly sweeter. If Prosecco is unavailable, you can substitute it with other sparkling wines. Champagne, for instance, is a good alternative, though it tends to be a bit drier and can be more expensive. Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, also makes an excellent substitute, offering a similar dry and refreshing profile.

Crafting Your Peach Bellini with Prosecco: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating this elegant Peach Bellini is surprisingly simple and immensely rewarding. Below, you’ll find a general overview of the steps, with a detailed, printable recipe available at the bottom of this blog post for your convenience.

1. Prepare the Peaches: Begin by carefully peeling the peaches and removing their pits. The method for peeling can vary based on the peach’s ripeness, so refer to our FAQ section below for detailed tips on how to achieve this easily. Once peeled and pitted, slice the fruit into small, manageable pieces.
2. Blend into Puree: Transfer the peach slices to a blender or food processor. Add the fresh lemon juice, which will not only brighten the flavor but also help preserve the vibrant color of your puree. Pulse until you achieve a wonderfully smooth and consistent puree. Avoid over-blending, which can introduce too much air.
3. Assemble the Cocktail: Take your chilled champagne flutes. Fill approximately one-third (⅓) of each glass with the freshly made peach puree. This ratio provides the perfect balance of fruity sweetness and sparkling wine.
4. Top with Prosecco and Serve: Gently top off the remaining portion of the glass with chilled Prosecco. Pour slowly to maintain the fizz. A quick, gentle stir with a bar spoon can help marry the flavors, but avoid vigorous stirring that could flatten the bubbles. Serve immediately and enjoy!

The best method for peeling peaches often depends on their firmness. If you have a firm peach, a standard vegetable peeler can work efficiently to remove the skin. However, for softer, riper peaches where a peeler might bruise the fruit, blanching is the ideal technique. To blanch, bring a pan with about 2 inches of water to a rolling boil. While the water heats, cut a small ‘X’ into the bottom of each peach with a sharp knife. Carefully immerse the peaches into the boiling water for precisely 10 seconds. Immediately transfer them to an ice bath (a bowl of water with plenty of crushed ice) to halt the cooking process. Once cooled, the skin should easily slip off from the ‘X’ cut you made, making the peeling process quick and effortless.

Cutting a peach into wedges depends on whether it’s a “freestone” or “clingstone” variety. With a freestone peach, where the pit easily separates from the flesh, you can simply cut the peach in half along the seam, twist it open, and then cut each half into wedges, pulling the segments away from the pit. For clingstone peaches, where the flesh adheres tightly to the pit, a different approach is needed. In this case, slice the peach all around the pit, making cuts parallel to the pit, until you have several slices. Then, you can cut these slices into wedges as desired. A sharp paring knife will be your best friend for this task.

Although often mistaken for distinct fruits, nectarines are actually a type of peach, specifically a cultivar of peach. The primary differences lie in their skin and how their pits behave. A nectarine has a smooth, firm skin, whereas a peach is characterized by its fuzzy, delicate skin. Furthermore, nectarine pits are almost always “freestone,” meaning they easily detach from the fruit’s flesh. As mentioned in the previous FAQ, peaches can be either “freestone” or “clingstone,” with some varieties having pits that are firmly attached to the flesh. Beyond these physical differences, their flavor profiles are quite similar, though some find nectarines to be slightly sweeter or more aromatic.

The classic and most commonly recommended ratio for a Bellini is one-third peach puree to two-thirds Prosecco (1:2 ratio). This ensures a balanced drink that highlights both the sweetness and fruitiness of the peach and the crisp, sparkling qualities of the Prosecco. However, personal preference plays a big role. If you prefer a sweeter, more intensely peachy flavor, you can adjust the ratio to closer to half puree and half Prosecco. For a lighter, more bubbly drink, slightly reduce the amount of puree. Always adjust to your taste!

Did you make this delicious recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram! I love to see what your creation looks like and regularly share the most beautiful photos of you! Did you like this recipe? Then leave a rating on the recipe card! Your feedback helps other home cooks and me enormously.

Need more inspiration?

• You can find video recipes on my YouTube channel.
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Bellini Cocktail with Peach Puree

Andréa

More Sparkling and Refreshing Drinks to Enjoy

If you’ve enjoyed crafting and sipping on this classic Bellini, you’ll be delighted to explore more exciting drink recipes from our collection. Here are a few recommendations to keep your spirits high and your palate refreshed: