Prosecco, the bubbly drink from Northern Italy, has overtaken Champagne for the first time ever this year. In fact, Veneto, the region where we live, has produced the drink since as far back as the 1100s.
The drink is a lighter, crisper alternative to Champagne, which is produced exclusively from the Champagne region of France. But Prosecco comes at a fraction of the price.
Prosecco has even gained tremendous popularity in the United Kingdom, where it seems everyone has fallen in love with the drink. According to figures reported in the Belfast Telegraph, UK drinkers spent more on Prosecco than champagne in supermarkets for the first time last year and doubled sales from 2013.
While Champagne's secondary flavors remind one more of biscuits, brioche and pastries, Prosecco is more about fruits: white peaches, pears, apples. In my mind, it's a more approachable style of wine. If you are planning an aperitivo (aperitif) at home, this drink is the perfect choice. It's a social drink, light like a summer dress.
You may want to learn little more about this cheerful wine because when is comes to choosing a bottle of Prosecco, there are some things you need to know:
First, on an Italian wine label, consumers should look for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC, and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, DOCG.
DOC wines are produced in particular regions, according to specific rules designed to preserve the traditional winemaking practices of each individual region. The DOCG is similar to DOC but more stringent. Allowable yields are generally lower, and DOCG wines must pass an evaluation of a tasting committee before they can be bottled.
In order to carry the DOCG appellation, the wine must be made from at least 85 percent Glera grapes from the area in the hills around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. However, the wine may contain a maximum of 15 percent of other approved grape varieties from the same area (including the indigenous varieties Verdiso, Perera and Bianchetta).
There are three sub-classifications related to sweetness. "Dry" indicates a wine with 17 to 32 grams of sugar per liter; "extra dry" has anywhere from 12 to 17 grams; and "brut" has 0 to 12 grams.
While a "dry' is most always quite sweet, a well-balanced dry on the lower end of the scale could seem fairly dry. To make it somewhat even more confusing, a brut on the higher end might come across as rather sweet. A wine from the sub-zone of Cartizze, long considered Prosecco's grand cru, is labeled Superiore di Cartizze DOCG, and most Cartizzes are traditionally made in a dry (that is, fairly sweet) style.
There are also sub-categories related to bubbliness. The most common version is the most sparkling one, spumante, which is made in an autoclave (pressure chamber) at about six atmospheres of pressure. There is also a less bubbly, frizzante, version and even a still Prosecco, called tranquillo or fermo, which doesn't have any bubbles at all.
There are several different ways of getting the bubbles into the wine. The most common is the autoclave, but another type of fermentation can also take place in the individual bottle using the classic method (with disgorgement) or the traditional practice called sur lie or col fondo, due to the sediment which is left in the bottle.
There is also a system of subzones called rive, which indicates Proseccos made from grapes of one specific town or hamlet. Grapes for rive Proseccos must be hand-harvested and have a lower maximum yield than a non-rive. Finally, while a regular Prosecco may contain wine from several different years, a vintage Prosecco (also referred to as millesimato) is made exclusively from grapes harvested in the year indicated on the label. A Prosecco labeled as a rive must always be a vintage.
DOCG status has passed for Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and Prosecco di Montello e Colli Asolani. The DOC includes at least eight provinces: Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia and Vicenza, which used to be marketed as IGT Prosecco (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). This designation was created in order to accommodate growers who couldn't meet all DOC or DOCG regulations for one reason or another.
Now that you are armed with knowledge about Prosecco, it is time to get out there and try some!
*This article is intended as regional and cultural information. Please drink responsibly.
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