The recipe
for your table
Purée peeled white peaches until smooth and chill the purée thoroughly.
Pour the peach purée into the flute.
Top up slowly with prosecco and stir very gently with a bar spoon.
Serve immediately, without garnish – pure, just as in Venice.
The story
Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, puréed ripe white peaches in 1948 and mixed them with prosecco. The soft pink color reminded him of the glow in the paintings of the fifteenth-century Venetian master Giovanni Bellini – and the name was born. Harry's Bar was already Hemingway's, Orson Welles's and later the entire jet set's favorite haunt, so the Bellini immediately had a global stage. To this day, the bar serves it according to the original: white peach only, prosecco only.
The right glass
At Harry's Bar, the Bellini is served in a simple, narrow glass; the modern standard is an elegant flute of 18 to 26 cl. The narrow shape keeps the mousse lively and the peach color beautifully layered. Choose thin, clear glass – this cocktail needs no decoration, only a perfect backdrop. Prefer the wide coupe as it is served at Harry's Bar? Take a look at our champagne coupe glasses.
RCR Adagio Champagne Flute 18 cl (6 pieces)
Bohemia Columba Champagne Flute 26 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets — € 82.90 together, free shipping from € 50.
Variations & twists
The original is sacred—white peach and prosecco—but the template is versatile: with strawberry it is called a Rossini, with orange a Mimosa, and with pomegranate a Tintoretto. Outside peach season, good frozen purée is a more sensible choice than a hard imported peach. Looking for more inspiration? Browse all 80 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
White peaches are essential to the authentic flavor—yellow peaches make it flatter and sweeter. Out of season, frozen white peach purée is an excellent secret weapon.
White or yellow peach
White peaches are not a detail but the heart of the recipe. They contain less acidity than yellow peaches, so the purée stays soft and floral rather than sharply fruity, and turns light pink instead of orange. Yellow peaches make the Bellini flatter and sweeter, pushing it toward peach lemonade. Out of season, which in the Netherlands roughly runs from July to September, frozen white peach purée is a more sensible choice than a hard imported peach. Let the purée thaw in the refrigerator, never in the microwave, or you will end up with a cooked flavor.
Bellini, Mimosa, or Rossini
One template, three different glasses. The Bellini uses 5 cl white peach purée and 10 cl prosecco; the Rossini uses the same amount of strawberry purée, while the Tintoretto uses pomegranate juice. The Mimosa falls just outside the template, as it uses equal parts orange juice and sparkling wine, making it thinner and fresher. All three were invented in Venice and named after painters, which explains why the color matters so much. With peach purée, the Bellini is the thickest and smoothest of the three, and therefore also the most filling.
Buy or make peach purée
Making your own purée gives the best result: dip ripe white peaches in boiling water for ten seconds, peel them, remove the stones, and purée the flesh until smooth. Allow two peaches for three cocktails. Ready-made purée from brands such as Boiron or Ravifruit is an excellent alternative and often even more consistent in quality. Do check the label for added sugar, though, as sweetened purée makes the cocktail heavy. Bottled ready-made Bellini, such as Martini’s, is something else entirely and lacks the texture of fresh purée.
A pitcher of Bellini for eight guests
For eight glasses, you need 40 cl peach purée and one and a half bottles of prosecco. Feel free to make the purée a day in advance and store it covered in the refrigerator; a splash of lemon juice keeps the color light. Add the bubbles only per glass, because in a pitcher the fizz is gone within twenty minutes. Pour the purée into the flutes first, set them out on a tray, and top them up as soon as the guests arrive. Then stir carefully with a bar spoon, once and no more, otherwise everything will foam over the rim.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a Bellini?
A Bellini consists of 5 cl white peach purée and 10 cl well-chilled prosecco, optionally with a drop of raspberry juice for a pink glow. Nothing else, not even a garnish. This is still how it is served at Harry's Bar in Venice, where it was created in 1948.
Which peach do you use for a Bellini?
White peaches, and that choice is decisive. Yellow peaches make the cocktail flatter and sweeter and lack the floral character that defines the Bellini. Outside peach season, a good frozen white peach purée is more honest than a hard imported peach from the produce aisle.
What is the difference between a Bellini and a Mimosa?
The fruit. A Bellini is made with white peach purée, a Mimosa with orange juice, and both are topped up with bubbles. The same template also produces the Rossini with strawberry and the Tintoretto with pomegranate. The Bellini, made with peach purée, is the thickest and softest.
Which glass do you use for a Bellini?
A champagne flute holding 18 to 26 cl is the modern standard. Its narrow shape keeps the mousse lively and lets the peach color appear beautifully layered. Choose thin, clear glass, as this cocktail needs no garnish; see our champagne flute glasses.
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