White peach purée and Prosecco — Venice's iconic aperitivo, created at Harry's Bar in 1948.
The Bellini was invented by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, in 1948. He named it after the Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini, whose paintings feature a shade of pink that matched the colour of the drink. Ernest Hemingway was a regular at Harry's Bar and may have been among its earliest drinkers.
The critical detail is white peaches, not yellow. White peaches have a more delicate, floral sweetness that doesn't overpower the Prosecco. The purée should be unsweetened — the natural sugar in ripe peaches is exactly right. A Bellini made with tinned peach slices or peach schnapps is not a Bellini.
Replace white peach purée with fresh strawberry purée for a deeper red colour and sweeter, more intense fruit flavour.
Use mandarin orange or clementine juice instead of peach purée. Named after another Italian composer.
Upgrade from Prosecco to a good Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Crisper, more acidic, and considerably more expensive — worth it for celebrations.