Bellini

The Bellini is one of the easiest brunch cocktails to make and drink. Invented by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1948, the drink was not, as you might expect, simply a peachy take on a Mimosa. Instead, the simple blend of peach purée and Prosecco was inspired by a work of art. According to Arrigo Cipriani, Giuseppe’s son, 15th century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini is the man to thank for one of the world’s great pre-noon cocktails. “I had no idea at the time that the pink glow my father had so admired in one of Bellini's paintings would be the inspiration for his famous cocktail," Arrigo said in his book Harry's Bar: The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark. "He experimented by puréeing small white peaches and adding some Prosecco. Those who tested it gave it rave reviews... He named it the Bellini, and from that day on the pink champagne drink became part of the Harry's Bar culture.”