A Bellini is white peach purée topped with Prosecco: one part peach to two parts Prosecco, gently stirred and served in a chilled flute with no ice. It was created at Harry’s Bar in Venice by Giuseppe Cipriani, usually dated to 1948, and it’s still the most famous drink Venice has given the world.
Two ingredients, and yet it’s the cocktail most people get wrong, mostly by reaching for the peach schnapps. The real thing is fresher, softer and pinker than anything with “schnapps” in the recipe.
The recipe (one glass)
- 2 oz (50 to 60 mL) white peach purée, chilled
- 4 oz (100 to 120 mL) Prosecco Brut, chilled
The international bartenders’ standard (IBA) uses exactly this balance: 100 mL Prosecco to 50 mL white peach purée.
Method
- Pour the peach purée into a chilled flute.
- Tilt the glass and add the Prosecco slowly.
- Stir once, gently, so the purée and wine marry without losing the bubbles.
No ice, no garnish. The color does the decorating.
How to make white peach purée
- Fresh (best, May to September): peel and pit ripe white peaches and press them through a sieve or mash them by hand. A blender works but whips in air and makes the drink foam. Taste: if the peaches aren’t very sweet, add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of sugar.
- Frozen: thawed frozen peaches make a good purée out of season.
- Bottled: ready-made white peach purée is sold online and in specialty stores. It’s the easiest route for a party.
Yellow peaches work, but they make a deeper orange, more tart drink. White peaches give the classic soft pink.
Why Prosecco, not Champagne?
Because Venice. The Bellini was born in the Veneto, Prosecco’s home region, and it’s built for Prosecco’s light body and fresh fruit. Champagne’s toasty, yeasty notes compete with the peach instead of lifting it. Use a Brut: the purée already supplies the sweetness.
Our own Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC works beautifully here, and the Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC Rosé makes a pinker, berry-edged Bellini.
A short history
Giuseppe Cipriani opened Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1931. He created the Bellini there; most sources, including the Cipriani family’s own, date it to 1948, though some histories place it earlier. The name, the story goes, honors the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini, whose paintings share the drink’s soft pink glow. The pairing of white peach and Prosecco became so famous that bartenders spun off variations with other fruits, many named after Italian artists and composers.
Bellini variations
The IBA lists three classic variants on the Bellini formula: fruit plus Prosecco.
- Rossini: fresh strawberry purée. Named for the composer Gioachino Rossini.
- Puccini: fresh mandarin juice. Named for the composer Giacomo Puccini.
- Tintoretto: pomegranate juice. Named for the Venetian painter.
And the cousin everyone confuses it with: the mimosa uses orange juice and is usually credited to Paris, not Venice. Here’s how to make one.
Bellinis for a crowd
Mix the purée ahead and keep it cold; add Prosecco only as you pour. One 750 mL bottle makes about six Bellinis at 4 oz each, with about 1½ cups of purée. For a brunch, plan on two per guest; our drinks calculator does the bottle math.
Alcohol-free Bellini: white peach purée topped with chilled sparkling water or an alcohol-free sparkling wine, in the same flute.
Bellini questions
What is in a Bellini? White peach purée and Prosecco. That’s all.
What’s the ratio for a Bellini? One part peach purée to two parts Prosecco.
Does a Bellini have peach schnapps? Not the classic. Schnapps makes it sweeter and stronger; real peach is the point.
Is a Bellini served with ice? No. Chill the ingredients and the glass instead.
More drinks: Aperol Spritz · our Prosecco cocktails guide
Please enjoy responsibly: 21+ only, and plan a safe way home.
