Cipriani Aperitivo & Drinks, the Bellini from Harry's Bar for your home
Here you will find the Bellini from Cipriani in three versions: as an original cocktail with Prosecco, as an alcohol-free Bellini Base for mixing yourself, and as a sparkling Bellini Zero. A recipe from Venice, three ways to enjoy it.
Cipriani Aperitivo brings the Bellini, that legendary cocktail made of Prosecco and white peach, directly from Harry's Bar in Venice to your table. Three versions, one recipe, virtually unchanged since 1948.
One cocktail, three ways to drink it
The Bellini is one of the few cocktails with a name and an origin that can be traced back to the exact day. Invented in Venice, named after a painter, and with a recipe that has remained virtually unchanged for decades: Prosecco and white peach, nothing else is needed.
Today, Cipriani offers this classic in three versions, depending on how you want to drink it. With alcohol, completely without, or as a base that you mix yourself. All three bear the same name and the same standard: to stay as close as possible to the original from Harry's Bar.
The recipe from Harry's Bar relies on two ingredients, Prosecco and white peach, in a carefully balanced ratio. This reduction makes the Bellini easy to replicate on the one hand, but all the harder to truly capture in terms of taste if you try it yourself.
Anyone who only knew the Bellini from a bar will be surprised how easily the original can be recreated at home, without any bartender training. A glass, chilled—that is all the equipment you need.
In Italy, the aperitivo is less of a single drink than a fixed time of day, usually between 6 PM and 8 PM, when bars and cafés serve small snacks with drinks. The Bellini has been a staple of this ritual for decades, especially in Venice, where it was invented and can still be found at virtually every bar today.
Original, Zero, and Base in comparison
The Bellini Original Cocktail is the classic version with 5.5 percent alcohol by volume: Prosecco DOC, refined with 20 percent white peach purée, bottled in the turquoise 750-milliliter bottle that has become the brand's trademark. Poured chilled, it is ready to drink.
The Bellini Zero contains no alcohol at all: grape juice, white peach purée, and peach juice, carbonated. Also 750 milliliters, intentionally modeled closely on the original in taste, for those who want to forgo the alcohol but not the aroma.
The Bellini Base alcohol-free is the most flexible of the three versions: a carbonated cocktail base made of white peach purée, in a 4-pack with 180 milliliters per bottle. Enjoy it neat over ice, or as a base to mix your own Bellini with Prosecco, vodka, or another spirit of your choice.
Three bottles, three occasions: the Original Cocktail for the classic aperitivo, the Bellini Zero for an alcohol-free brunch, the Bellini Base for those who prefer their own mix.
When shipping the Bellini Base, we take care of one small but important step: the four bottles are removed from the carrier, packed individually, and the folded bottle carrier is sent along separately so that nothing breaks during transport. Only when it reaches your home is the carrier used again.
Those who enjoy an aperitivo regularly will find the Bellini Base most flexible, as multiple glasses can be mixed from one bottle and the amount can easily be adjusted to the number of guests. Original Cocktail and Bellini Zero, on the other hand, are better suited for spontaneous enjoyment straight from the bottle.
1948, a painter, and a pink cocktail
The story of the Bellini begins in 1948, when a major exhibition of the painter Giovanni Bellini was shown at the Doge's Palace in Venice. Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar, composed a new cocktail for the occasion from Prosecco and white peach purée, whose delicate pink hue reminded him of the robes in Bellini's paintings. The name was set.
To this day, the family adheres to strict criteria when selecting peaches. Arrigo Cipriani, son of the founder, once summarized the rule: "Never yellow, and better if they are small and have a pink skin." Only these varieties provide the delicately creamy, slightly reddish-veined flesh that gives the Bellini its characteristic color.
What was intended as a cocktail for a single vernissage became one of the most famous aperitifs in the world in the following decades, far beyond Venice and Italy. Harry's Bar itself, located in a side street near Piazza San Marco, was opened by Giuseppe Cipriani in 1931, seventeen years before the invention of the Bellini, and soon counted guests like Ernest Hemingway among its regulars.
The red wine vinegar and Carnaroli rice that you can find in our Cipriani Fine Foods selection share the same origin from the kitchen of Harry's Bar, as do the durum wheat pastas from our Cipriani Durum Wheat Pasta collection.
What is remarkable about this story is how little the basic recipe has changed since 1948. While many cocktails have spawned ever-new variations over the decades, Cipriani sticks to the original combination of Prosecco and white peach to this day, only now also alcohol-free and as a DIY-mix base.
Serving the Bellini correctly
The Bellini is one of those cocktails where temperature is almost more important than preparation. Both bottles, Original and Zero, should be well-chilled before being poured into a glass, ideally a slim flute, as used for sparkling wine or champagne, to preserve the fine effervescence for as long as possible.
For the Bellini Base, a simple rule of thumb applies for your own mix: two parts Prosecco to one part base, gently stirred rather than shaken so the carbonation doesn't escape too quickly. If you prefer it alcohol-free, replace the Prosecco with a non-alcoholic sparkling wine or simply with chilled mineral water.
Important here: the Prosecco should be dry, not a sweet Spumante, otherwise the already fruity Bellini will quickly become too sweet. A simple, straightforward Prosecco DOC is perfectly sufficient; expensive premium vintages would be wasted here, as their delicate aroma would be lost in the peach purée anyway.
An additional practical trick: if you chill the bottle briefly in the freezer before opening instead of just cooling it in the fridge, you get a cocktail that melts more slowly and is therefore stable for longer, without needing additional ice that would dilute it.
Regarding the question of how complicated all this needs to be, Arrigo Cipriani, who shaped the family business's kitchen for decades, held a clear view: "Simplicity is the most difficult thing there is." In the case of the Bellini, this means relying on good basic ingredients and not getting in their way.
The right occasion for every version
Classically, the Bellini belongs to the Italian aperitivo, that hour before dinner when you stimulate your appetite with a light drink and a few small bites instead of satisfying it. A few chips, olives, or thinly sliced prosciutto are usually enough.
The Bellini also goes well with fish and seafood dishes, precisely because its fine sweetness and delicate effervescence form a good counterpoint to salty foods without overpowering them. In Venice, a city where fish traditionally plays a major role, this combination has been common practice for decades.
For a weekend brunch, the alcohol-free Bellini Zero is particularly suitable, as it can easily be combined with coffee, croissants, and sweet pastries, such as the Cipriani Sweet Pastry products from the same house. Those who prefer to mix their own recipe should reach for the Bellini Base and vary between classic with Prosecco or completely alcohol-free, depending on the occasion.
The Bellini also works well as a gift, precisely because the story behind it—Venice, a painter, a painting—can be told in a single sentence. If you are looking for more aperitif ideas, you will find them in our Aperitif selection.
For a small celebration, one bottle of Original Cocktail is usually enough for two to three people, as a glass is typically filled with around 100 to 120 milliliters. For larger groups, it is worth providing several bottles so that no one has to switch to water prematurely.
Cipriani Aperitivo for your own summer evening
Three bottles, one recipe, countless occasions: The Bellini from Cipriani brings a piece of Venetian lifestyle into your glass, without the flight to Italy. Whether with or without alcohol, the original remains recognizably the same in aroma and color.
Serve it well-chilled, in a slim glass, ideally in pairs or in company, just as it was served for the first time in 1948. For all those who have acquired a taste for more Venetian cuisine after the aperitivo, the entire Cipriani Food collection offers pasta, fine foods, and sweet pastries.
Whether as the Original with Prosecco, as the Zero completely without alcohol, or as a Base to mix yourself: all three bottles tell the same Venetian story, only with a different recipe for different occasions. That is exactly the charm of this little collection.
Cheers, or as they say in Venice: Cin Cin.
