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One of the most popular brands of champagne is rightfully considered Fragolino – straight from sunny Italy, named after the grape variety of the same name, which we have under the familiar and familiar name of Isabella.
The name Fragolino itself comes from the Italian Fragola – “strawberry”, which already speaks of a soft strawberry flavor and a pleasant pinkish color of champagne.
Fragolino production ban in Europe
Few people know that the production of this champagne at the moment does not depend on the Fragolino variety in any way – now manufacturers add berry juice and flavors to champagne in order to bring the taste of the drink as close as possible to strawberry.
Why do manufacturers not use grapes for this?
The fact is that the Fragolino variety is now banned in Europe – during the examination it turned out that during the production of wine, the berries of this grape emit dangerous methanol, which not only negatively affects the taste of wine, but also makes it dangerous, poisonous.
A small dose of methanol (10 ml!) Leads to severe poisoning and blindness, 80-150 ml to death.
Therefore, you will not be able to find the original Fragolino anywhere, except perhaps in Italy itself – there are still small productions of this wine, but they are not exported to other countries.
How to distinguish a fake from an original
The inconsistency with the original recipe for Fragolino champagne does not mean that manufacturers are trying to deceive the consumer by selling a fake for a round sum.
Not at all – due to the ban on the variety that gives that unique strawberry taste, freshly squeezed strawberry juice is used in production, and the gastronomic value of this drink is not inferior to the original one.
And you are protected from dangerous methanol, and producers comply with all wine production standards.
In order not to stumble upon low-quality alcohol, you should pay attention to the manufacturer. The most famous and established manufacturers of Fragolino champagne on the market:
Fiorelli (Italy)
Novellina (Italy) – they sell not only strawberry Fragolino, but also peach wine, which is made from white grapes with the addition of peach juice
Fruco Shulz (Czech Republic)
Fresito (Chile)
Types of Fragolino
Most often, the market is dominated by two types of Fragolino strawberry champagne:
Fragolino Rosso – sweet red, rich pinkish color, with a pronounced strawberry-strawberry flavor.
Fragolino Bianco – semi-sweet white, more tart, but still having a characteristic berry taste.
How to drink Fragolino
Fragolino is served chilled to 6-8 degrees in champagne glasses – flutes, tulips, goblets.
Dried fruits, cheese, various sweets, such as meringue, fruit pies, cakes, go well with wine.
Your holiday will be a great success if Fragolino is on it. Its pleasant, delicate taste is perfect for a romantic dinner, birthday, bachelorette parties.
Relevance: 14.07.2018
Tags: Wine and vermouth, Sparkling wine brands