Canella

From the Osteria on the Piave to a Prosecco pioneer

The history of Canella begins in 1947 at the Osteria Forte in San Donà di Piave, a small tavern run by Giovanna Canella. Her son Luciano was tasked with sourcing wine for the guests – and because the selection was thin back then, he simply filled used sparkling wine bottles with his own fortified, slightly sweetened wine. The light, sparkling wines were an immediate hit, first in his mother's osteria, and soon in bars and restaurants throughout the lagoon region. By 1952, artisanal production was no longer sufficient: Luciano built his first own cantina in San Donà di Piave. In the 1960s, he recognized the potential of Prosecco earlier than most – at a time when it was barely known compared to heavy red and white wines – and created the company logo that remains iconic to this day, in which the "C" of the family name becomes a waiter with a tray. In 1994, Canella Prosecco won the Gran Medaglia d'Oro at the Vinitaly Concorso Enologico. Since 2021, the brand has held the title "Marchio storico di interesse nazionale" – a state-recognized historical trademark of Italy.

Own peach orchard, no additives, patented process

Anyone looking behind the scenes at Canella understands why the Bellini is not an industrially mixed drink. To ensure a recipe as authentic as possible, Luciano Canella decided to plant his own peach orchard right next to the cantina in San Donà di Piave. There, the Maria Bianca variety – the classic Venetian white peach – grows on around four hectares and today provides about 40 percent of the fruit content for the Bellini. The harvest is done by hand and only at optimal ripeness to ensure maximum sugar concentration and aroma. Canella works without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives and is IFS-certified. For carbonation, the house uses a specially patented natural sparkling process that avoids forced carbonation. Canella sources the Prosecco portion from selected vineyards in the Marca Trevigiana as well as the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Today, Luciano's children Alessandra, Lorenzo, Nicoletta, and Monica run the company; with Tommaso Canella, the third generation is already actively involved in the business.

Prosecco DOC and the Bellini family: the Venetian aperitivo in a bottle

Canella's core range revolves around two axes: Prosecco and fruit-based aperitivi. The Canella Prosecco Conegliano DOC Millesimato Spumante is aged using the Charmat method, displaying a straw-yellow color with a fine, persistent perlage and a characteristically fruity bouquet. Starting in 1988, Canella was one of the first producers ever to bring a bottled Bellini to market: two parts Prosecco Brut, one part juice and pulp of the white Maria Bianca peaches, refined with a few drops of wild raspberry. Since 2001, the bottle has officially carried the trademark of the city of Venice. From the year 2000, further variants of the aperitivo line followed: the Mimosa with blood orange, the Rossini with strawberries from the southern Italian Candonga consortium, and the Puccini with mandarins from the Sicilian Ciaculli consortium. Those who prefer their aperitivo alcohol-free will find the Bellini Zero, a version without any Prosecco content. All products stand for the same claim: to bring fruit and sparkling wine together in such a way that no additives are necessary – only the raw ingredients themselves.