"Summer Sundays scream for Bellini's"

The summer months are a bartender's delight.  The amount of fruit in season is astounding.  I was not very fond of white peaches growing up, but I have become a big fan when they roll back into season.  They are essential to the Italian classic Bellini.  All too often artificial syrups and cheap peach brandies are poured along with cheap sparklings and sent out as Bellini's...it makes my stomach turn.  This classic deserves better.

The story of the Bellini is one built on the trust and the true nature of giving.  During the days of Prohibition an American playboy, Harry Pickering, had befriended a bartender, Giuseppe Cipriani, at the Europa Hotel in Venice.  Pickering's family was concerned about his "dangerous drinking playboy lifestyle" and decided to cut off his funds in an effort to get him back home.  Pickering asked Cipriani for a loan of 10,000 lire, roughly the equivalent of $61,000 in todays market.  Cipriani lent him his life savings so he could get his affairs in order.  Pickering disappeared and not a word was heard from him for over a year, until one day he appeared, ordered a drink and paid Cipriani 40,000 lire as a show of gratitude so he could open his own bar.  In 1931, Cipriani opened  Harry's Bar in Venice.  This now world famous bar became the favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis and Orson Welles.

The Bellini was invented sometime between 1934 and 1948 and named after a painting done by one of my favorite Venetian Masters, Giovanni Bellini.  The drink begins with a white peach puree and is topped with the native sparkling of the region, Prosecco.  The unique pink color reminded him of a toga worn by a saint in a painting.  

          *Back in 2000 we took a family trip to Italy and Harry's Bar was on my must see list!

Barragan's Bellini Recipe

Begin with 3 ripe white Peaches.  Peel the skins off, de-stem and de-pit them.  In a food processor, puree the fruit and add a tablespoon of all natural honey to add a bit of creamy texture and another layer of flavor.  This is enough for 12 Summer fresh glasses of Classic Bellinis ala Giuseppe Cipriani!  Cin-Cin!

http://harrysbarvenezia.com/