Frizzante is Italian for lightly sparkling, and it describes a whole family of wines that fizz gently rather than foam. Think of a dry Lambrusco poured with a plate of salumi, a cloudy col fondo Prosecco from the hills of Treviso, or a bright rosato with a soft prickle. These wines are made to be drunk young and cool, and they bring a lift to the table that still wine cannot.
What frizzante wine means, and how it differs from spumante
The difference is pressure. Under EU wine law a semi-sparkling wine, which is what frizzante means on an Italian label, carries between 1 and 2.5 bar of pressure at 20°C. A spumante has at least 3 bar, and quality sparkling wine with a protected origin at least 3.5 bar. Champagne sits around 5 to 6 bar. So a frizzante has a finer, softer mousse that fades more quickly in the glass, and it rarely needs a wire cage. Many are closed with a plain cork tied down with string, the spago of the Veneto, or with a crown cap.
There are two main ways to make one. Most frizzante gets its bubbles from a short second fermentation in a pressure tank that is stopped while the pressure is still low. The older way is rifermentazione in bottiglia: the wine is bottled with a little sugar or grape must, referments in the bottle and is sold with its yeast sediment, often cloudy and bone dry. Gianluca Bergianti of Terrevive near Carpi works this way. His Rosso Rifermentato is called No Autoclave, a direct nod to the pressure tank he does without.
Lambrusco, Prosecco and col fondo: the classic frizzante styles
Lambrusco frizzante from Emilia
Lambrusco is the best-known frizzante of all, and the good ones are dry, purple-fruited and refreshingly bitter at the finish. Bergianti's rosato Perfranco comes from an old local clone of Lambrusco Salamino, and his Saint Vincent is a pale Lambrusco di Sorbara rosato refermented in bottle. Corte Manzini's L'Acino is a dry Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, darker and more tannic, and Lusvardi makes its Senzafondo from organically farmed Lambrusco. All of them come from Emilia-Romagna.
Prosecco frizzante and col fondo
Before tank fermentation took over, Prosecco was a gently sparkling wine refermented in the bottle. Col fondo means "with the bottom", the yeast deposit left in the bottle. Case Paolin's Prosecco Col Fondo is a fine example: unfiltered, dry and fresh with green apple and a yeasty edge. Its pressure can sit a little above a classic frizzante, but the style belongs to the same Veneto tradition.
Beyond Lambrusco and Prosecco
Frizzante is made all over Italy. Tenute Orestiadi's Pizzicanti Bianco Frizzante blends Grillo and Catarratto from Sicily, and Fratelli Raguzzoni's rosato J'Accuse is a crisp, red-fruited pink frizzante from Emilia.
How to serve frizzante and what to eat with it
Serve frizzante well chilled, around 6 to 8°C for whites and rosés and 10 to 12°C for red Lambrusco, and drink it young. Lambrusco is made for the food of Emilia: mortadella, prosciutto, gnocco fritto, tortellini and aged Parmigiano Reggiano. White and rosé frizzante works as an aperitif, with fried fish, pizza or a summer salad. A cloudy col fondo is lovely with oysters and hard cheese. For fuller bubbles, browse our sparkling wine.
Frequently asked questions about frizzante
What does frizzante mean?
Frizzante is the Italian term for a semi-sparkling wine, with between 1 and 2.5 bar of pressure. It fizzes gently, while spumante is fully sparkling.
Is Prosecco frizzante or spumante?
Both exist. Most Prosecco sold today is spumante, but Prosecco frizzante is a recognised style, often closed with a string-tied cork, and col fondo Prosecco is the traditional bottle-fermented version.
Is frizzante wine dry or sweet?
It can be either. The labels tell you: secco means dry, amabile medium sweet and dolce sweet. Lambrusco secco, col fondo Prosecco and most rosato frizzante are dry, with fresh acidity.