Winners to Visit the Historic Heart of Italy’s Prosecco Superiore Region during the 50th Anniversary of its Appellation Designation
There’s a wide world of quality sparkling wine beyond Prosecco produced in Italy. If you’ve read much of this blog you’ll know that I am quite passionate about sparkling wine, and if not, now you know!
By Mary Clessler
“Just as champagne can only originate from the Champagne region of France, so the sparkling wine prosecco can only come from the Veneto and Friuli regions of northern Italy, two of twenty regions comprising the country.
Prosecco is made from the glera grape. To become a sparkling (fizzy) wine, the predominant method includes adding yeast and sugar not to individual bottles (as is done with the method Champenoise for champagne) but to steel tanks of wine where temperature and pressure can be controlled.
In Italy the highest denomination of controlled quality for wine is DOCG, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, whereas a respectable step below that is DOC.
Only the regions of Veneto and Friuli (the first includes the famed city of Venice) can produce DOC prosecco.
If you zoom in to the northeast portion of the region of Veneto on a map, you will find Treviso, one of several provinces comprising this region.
Zoom in even closer and you reach the bull’s eye within Treviso, named the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG production zone. This somewhat of a bulky pistol shaped territory includes the city of Conegliano on the east and Valdobbiadene to the west. This is where DOCG prosecco can be produced.”
These bubbles come from Italy’s picturesque Conegliano Valdobbiadene region.
by Hayley Hamilton Cogill
There have been rumors, for several years, that select Prosecco producers might be interested in creating a rosé version of the sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir. The white, standard-bearer for the region is currently—by law—made from 85% Glera, an indigenous grape, and Pinot Noir plantings are scarce in the region.
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Producers of premium Prosecco that can cost as much per bottle as Champagne have kicked off a campaign to encourage Brits to reappraise Italian fizz.
Masterclasses showcasing wines from Italy’s Conegliano Valdobbiadene region – awarded its own DOCG status in 2009 – begin today to redress the idea in Britain that Prosecco is inferior to other sparkling wines and should be sold for less.
Where would we be without Prosecco. As the rest of the wine category is flat or in declining sales, Prosecco continues to defy the odds recording year after year of double digit growth. Yet there are many restaurants and sommeliers who actively go out of their way not to list it. Sarah Abbott MW believes they are wrong to ignore a whole category on the basis of some cheap wines, but should, instead, embrace and delight in a category that still has so much potential.
As Prosecco’s Popularity Soars, Can Its Top End Gain Respect?
By Amy Zavatto
Before 2009, the only truly territorial unit within the larger Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco area was Cartizze, the historic 107-ha hill located close to the town of Valdobbiadene. Those winemakers used to supply the parties of well-off Milanese with rich, exuberant, mostly sweetish sparkling wine. Then many Prosecco producers woke up to the fact they could produce something called ‘Rive’ Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene: this possibility came as changes to the denomination rules, mandating stricter production guidelines for the new category.
Italy is famous for its fabulous food and the diversity of its amazing wines. Each region of the country offers a crave-worthy range of culinary choices in both categories. Here, foodies are never at a loss to discover something new and inspiring, or familiar and enticing.
By Stef Schwalb
There has never been a better time to get into bubbles. Sommeliers almost universally love Champagne, and, across America, our collective thirst for Prosecco is growing at record speed. Sales of Prosecco are expected to surpass both rosé wine and “discounted Champagne” by 2020, according to Vinexpo CEO Guillaume Deglise.
This presents a compelling case to visit Italy’s Prosecco Road. Largely under the radar of most American travelers — for now! — this 25-mile stretch is situated about two hours north of Veneto.
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Our writer toasts the sparkling makers of Britain’s favourite bubbly on a sophisticated vineyard road trip
Written by Mia Aimaro Ogden