Brachetto d'Acqui

Brachetto d'Acqui is a sweet, lightly sparkling red from Piedmont in northern Italy, bursting with strawberry, raspberry, cherry and rose. Light, fruity and usually lower in alcohol than most reds, it’s a brilliant match for chocolate, strawberries, berry desserts, cheesecake and fruit tarts – basically, dessert just found its plus-one.

Taste:

Sweet, sparkling and unapologetically fruity.

Brachetto d'Acqui is light-bodied with gentle bubbles, fresh acidity and very little tannin. Expect strawberry, raspberry and red cherry alongside rose petals, violet and other floral aromas.

The sweetness is balanced by that freshness and fizz, keeping it lively rather than heavy. Many bottles are also relatively low in alcohol, making Brachetto feel noticeably lighter than most red wines.

Serve it chilled and you've got a red that behaves nothing like the big, serious bottles you might normally associate with the colour.

Food Pairings:

Dessert is where Brachetto d'Acqui really gets to show off.

Chocolate is a classic match, particularly milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate brownies and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Fresh berries work beautifully too. Try it with strawberries and cream, raspberry cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, berry pavlova, summer pudding or a mixed berry tart.

It’s also great with fruit-based desserts such as cherry tart, strawberry tart, fruit tart, panna cotta with berries or a lighter fruit cheesecake.

Bringing out a cheese board instead? Soft, creamy cheeses such as Brie or mascarpone-based dishes can work well with its fruit and sweetness.

And yes, you can absolutely drink it without dessert. Chilled Brachetto makes a fun aperitif when you fancy bubbles but want something very different from the usual sparkling white.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Brachetto d'Acqui, Lambrusco is worth exploring for another sparkling Italian red. Just check the label, as Lambrusco can range from completely dry to sweet.

Moscato d'Asti is a natural next step if you love fragrant, sweet, lightly sparkling wines, while Asti Spumante brings more bubbles to a similarly fruity Italian style.

Moscato Rosé is another great option if sweet berries, floral flavours and fizz are your kind of thing.

Enjoyed this one? Give it a heart and we'll use your favourites to recommend other wines we think you'll love.

More About Brachetto d'Acqui:

Brachetto d'Acqui comes from Piedmont in northwestern Italy, particularly around the town of Acqui Terme, and is made from the aromatic Brachetto grape.

You'll most commonly find it as a sweet, gently sparkling frizzante wine, although other styles are permitted. Fermentation is stopped before all of the grape's natural sugar has been converted into alcohol, leaving both sweetness and relatively low alcohol behind.

Brachetto d'Acqui has DOCG status, putting it among Italy's officially recognised quality wines.

Sparkling. Red. Sweet. Smells like strawberries and roses. Sometimes wine really doesn't need to make life complicated.