Nino Franco Rustico – the Prosecco Where It All Began

This wine is Prosecco in its purest expression, food and wine lovers will note that it has a slightly dry quality: its balance of fruit and mineral flavors is what made it a favorite wine of the Venetians and their tapas-style cuisine.

When Primo Franco created his family’s Rustico label in the 1980s, Prosecco was poised to become one of the world’s most popular wines. At the time, no one could have imagined that Prosecco — a wine hardly known outside of Venice, Italy — was about to become the powerhouse that it is today. When he took the reins of his family’s winery mid-decade, Primo had a vision for Prosecco. After living through the swinging 1970s in London (where he worked as a waiter in one of the city’s most swank night clubs), he knew that English-speakers had an insatiable thirst for quality sparkling wine.

He was convinced that Prosecco — with its bright, fresh flavors and gentle fizz — could become the world’s favorite bubbly. Before he left his village, he wanted to leave the world a reminder of where it all began. And so he created Rustico: an “essential” expression of the Glera (Prosecco) grape and the place where it is grown. This is Prosecco in its purest form, with classic notes of bitter grapefruit and bracing minerality.