Peach Bellini Punch

White peach purée and Prosecco in a punch bowl — Cipriani's 1948 Harry's Bar creation named for painter Bellini, the rosé-gold color echoing his work.

Peach Bellini Punch scales Giuseppe Cipriani's 1948 Harry's Bar creation into the communal bowl format suited to large celebrations, preserving the elegant simplicity of white peach purée and prosecco in a preparation designed for group service. Harry's Bar, which Cipriani had opened with Harry Pickering at Calle Vallaresso in Venice in 1931, became one of the most celebrated bar-restaurants in Europe, attracting Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, and the cream of postwar international society. Cipriani named the Bellini for the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini — not for the composer Vincenzo Bellini, who was Sicilian, as is sometimes mistakenly stated — because the rosé-gold color of white peach purée combined with prosecco recalled the luminous pink tones of the Venetian painter's devotional works. The punch format's primary challenge is peach purée's tendency to oxidize and brown without the acid or antioxidant protection that citrus-based cocktails naturally carry; a small amount of lemon juice stirred into the purée before combining with prosecco stabilizes the color and prevents browning over the extended service time that a punch bowl requires.