Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine with extraordinary sales success all over the world, but Italians can tell that there is a Prosecco and the Prosecco. The name of the wine is the same, but the difference between the Prosecco produced in the traditional area of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, where it has been cultivating for hundreds of years from all other Prosecco wines, is crucial.
It’s a wine made of white grapes named glera, which supposed to be the old Slovene wine grape from Primorska (Slovenia) wine region and only later planted in the village of Prosecco above Trieste (Italy).
The Prosecco brand is distinguished by the likeable taste, a slight sweetness, affordable price, it’s availablele in large quantities from many producers, it’s not too demanding, in short – It’s a marketing hit. Also, many popular summer drinks are made with Prosecco, such as Aperol Spritz, Bellini, Hugo, ...
To understand this wine, it is necessary to know terroir (climate, soil, vineyard position, tradition, ...), Italian wine legislation and categorization. Quality wines of certain regions VQPRD may have the DOC categorization (controlled origin) or the highest possible categorization DOCG (controlled and guaranteed origin). By these labels Prosecco wine is determined and also its quality, visibility and price.
Prosecco DOCG is traditionally produced in the Conegliano - Valdobbiadene area, containing also the best known grand cru area Cartizze, where the wine makers achieve the highest wine awards and Rive, 43 registered villages that produce only Prosecco Millesimato (quality single vintage). The DOCG categorization is still represented in the nearby Asolo, but everything else is an area of the lower DOC designation and is divided into Prosecco Doc Treviso (Treviso area), Prosecco Doc (Veneto and Friuli) and Prosecco DOC Trieste (surroundings of Trieste).
This sparkling wine is mostly made by Charmat or Tank method, where secondary fermentation takes place in a high-pressure tank, which is also one of the differences compared to Champagne wine, where secondary fermentation takes place in a bottle. Charmat method is much shorter and simpler, that also contributes to more affordable price, with fresh and fruitful taste, which is recommended and trendy in the wine world at the moment. [endif]
According to the sugar content (grams / liter), Prosecco DOCG is divided into: Brut (0-12 g / l), Extra dry (12-17 g / l) and Dry (17-32 g / l). While 95% of this wine is sparkling or Spumante, the other two are Frizzante (less sparkling) and Tranquillo or Still wine. The labels are also Millesimato, which means that 85% of the grapes are from the labeled year and Rive, which is the label of smaller villages that produce top-quality, always annual Prosecco DOCG.
If you are making cocktails, there is no need to buy more expensive Prosecco DOCG, because the wine is gentle and the strong flavors of Aperol, Elder, Peach, ... would completely overtake the main flavor characteristics of Prosecco DOCG. Cheaper Prosecco DOC will fully satisfy the purpose of mixing beverages. If you want to serve this wine as an aperitif or accompanied with risotto, white meat, fish,... a good Prosecco DOCG is necessity and still is cheaper than any other good sparkling wine.
Interesting fact is that for the first time in the history of Great Britain, some sparkling wine has surpassed the sale of Champagne, and that wine is Prosecco. From 2014, when this turnover took place, sale in GB is slowly rising, while the sale of champagne falls slightly, which only indicates the fact that we are talking about an exceptional wine with the right price that doesn’t disappoint and it is worth trying!
The popularity of this sparkling wine in GB is so strong that many Catering Companies also offer rental vehicles from which only Prosecco is served.
