Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It is made from the Prosecco grape (renamed Glera in 2009 within the European Union) but denomination rules allow up to 15% of the wine to be other permitted varieties. Prosecco is almost always made in sparkling or semi-sparkling style (' and ', respectively), but a still wine (') is also permitted. Within the larger designation are two small DOCG areas, ''Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco'' in the hills between the towns of

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and '' comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th-century castle ...

and Valdobbiadene, and ''Asolo Prosecco'' around the nearby town of

Asolo Asolo () is a town and ''comune'' in the Veneto Region of northern Italy. It is known as "The Pearl of the province of Treviso", and also as "The City of a Hundred Horizons" for its mountain settings. History The town was originally a settleme ...

. Prosecco ''Superiore'' is always ''spumante'' and comes only from these DOCG areas. In 2019, ' became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in large part due to the region's role in the production of Prosecco. Since 2020, the DOC rules allow a rosé variety of Prosecco designated ''spumante rosé'', which must contain Glera blended with 10–15%

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

History

Cover Page Il Roccolo Ditirambo by Aureliano Acanti (1754)

In Trieste at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the local wine "

Ribolla Ribolla is a village in southern Tuscany, a '' frazione'' of the '' comune'' of Roccastrada, in the province of Grosseto. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to .Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural History'' and praised for its medicinal qualities by Livia, the wife of Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

.
The need to distinguish the "Ribolla" of Trieste from other wines of the same name, produced in Gorizia and at lower cost in Istria, led, at the end of the century, to a change in name. Following the supposed place of production in antiquity, the wine was referred to as "castellum nobile vinum Pucinum", after the castle near the village of Prosecco. The first known mention of the name ''Prosecco'' is attributed to the Englishman Fynes Moryson, who used the spelling ''Prosecho''. Moryson, visiting the north of Italy in 1593, notes: " Histria is devided into Forum Julii, and Histria properly so called ... Here growes the wine Pucinum, now called Prosecho, much celebrated by Pliny." He places Prosecco among the famous wines of Italy: "These are the most famous Wines of Italy. La lagrima di Christo and like wines neere

Cinqueterre The Cinque Terre (; lij, Çinque Tære, meaning "Five Lands") is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manar ...

in Liguria: La

vernazza Vernazza ( lij, Vernassa, locally ; la, Vulnetia) is a town and located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northwestern Italy. It is one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region. Vernazza is the fourth town heading north, has ...

, and the white Muskadine, especially that of Montefiaschoni in Tuscany: Cecubum and Falernum in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, and Prosecho in Histria." The method of

vinification Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and w ...

, the true distinguishing feature of the original Prosecco, spread first in Gorizia, then – through Venice – in Dalmatia, Vicenza and

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. In 1754, the spelling ''Prosecco'' appears for the first time in the book ''Il Roccolo Ditirambo'', written by Aureliano Acanti in Novoledo, in the municipality of

Villaverla Villaverla is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , ...

located in the

Province of Vicenza The Province of Vicenza ( it, Provincia di Vicenza) is a province in the Veneto region in northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza. The province has an area of 2,722.53 km², and a total population of 865,082 (as of 2017). There a ...

. The wine was then known by the local Slovene-speaking population as Prosegker or Prosekar and was grown on the Adriatic coast near the villages of Contovello, Prosecco, Santa Croce and the former Roman villa town

Barcola Barcola is a maritime neighbourhood of Trieste, Italy. It is a popular tourist place with beaches and long promenades, near the Habsburg-established Miramare Castle. Barcola is highly valued for the high quality of life and the free access to the ...

. The verses are: (in Italian), "And now I would like to wet my mouth with that Prosecco with its apple bouquet. From Monteberico this perfect favorite prosecco Our Priest give us. ... Mr Priest Jacopo Ghellini brother of Mr Pietro and Mr Marco. Those cavaliers from their estate on the Mount Berico (Monte Berico) collect the Prosecco, that has the most rare qualities, that a wine could have from any other place." Monte Berico is the hill of the city of Vicenza. The wine was defined by the grape used to make it, glera, and the brand was not protected. The village of Prosecco was about 150 km from the growing areas, and had never grown the glera grape. British importers started to be interested in importing the wine in quantity; in response the Italian minister of agriculture expanded the "

denominazione di origine controllata The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica ti ...

" (DOC) to cover far-away Prosecco. This was followed by claiming UNESCO world heritage status for "Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene" a few years later. Prosecco was introduced into the mainstream US market in 2000 by Mionetto, now the largest US importer of Prosecco, who reported an "incredible growth trend" in 2008. According to a 2008 '' New York Times'' report, Prosecco rose sharply in popularity in markets outside Italy, with global sales growing by double-digit percentages since 1998, aided also by its comparatively low price. The UK became in the mid-2010s the biggest export market for Prosecco, consuming one quarter of all Italian production. Production expanded massively, to €500m sales in 2019. Until the 2008 vintage Prosecco was protected as a DOC within Italy, as ''Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene'', ''Prosecco di Conegliano'', ''Prosecco di Valdobbiadene'', and ''Prosecco di Colli Asolani''. From 2009, these two area were promoted to DOCG status. To further protect the name, an association of traditional Prosecco growers advocated a protected designation of origin status for Northern Italian Prosecco under European law. Hence, since 1 January 2010, Prosecco is, according to an order of the Italian Minister of Agriculture of 17 July 2009, no longer the name of a grape variety (now to be called Glera), but exclusively a

geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

. This was confirmed by EG-Regulation Nr. 1166/2009 of 30 November 2009. The Colli Asolani Prosecco Superiore DOCG later changed its name to Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG in 2014.

Production

Unlike

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

and Franciacorta DOCG, Prosecco is usually produced using the alternative Charmat–Martinotti method, in which the secondary fermentation takes place in large stainless steel tanks rather than in each individual bottle, making the wine less expensive to produce, and the minimum production time is 30 days. Higher quality Prosecco using this method will ferment the wine over a longer period, up to around 9 months (Charmat Lungo). Nevertheless, the production rules for both the DOCG's also allow the use of the

traditional method The traditional method is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines (not called “Champagne”), in Spain to produce Cava, in Port ...

of secondary fermentation in the bottle, known in Italy as Metodo Classico. DOC and DOCG rules allow up to 15% of Prosecco wine to be a blend of Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For ne ...

, Pinot Bianco,

Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

, or

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

(vinified white). Approximately 150 million bottles of Prosecco were produced in 2008. Since then, huge growth means this figure is now approaching 600 million bottles in 2018. Since the 2000s, Glera grapes are cultivated and wine produced in other countries including Brazil, Romania,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and Australia. In the region of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene DOCG, there are more than 150 producers, and together they form the Consortium for the Protection of Prosecco from Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (Consorzio per la Tutela del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene). Also DOCG has its own Consorzio, with 94 producers.

Prosecco DOC

Most Prosecco, whether DOC or DOCG, is made as Spumante sparkling wine or Frizzante (semi-sparkling). Prosecco DOC Spumante is the most famous and popular variety, with longer-lasting bubbles. Prosecco DOC Frizzante has less lingering bubbles. A small proportion is made as Tranquillo (still wine), with no bubbles. ''Tranquillo'' amounts to only about five per cent of production, and this wine is rarely exported. Depending on their sweetness, in accordance with the EU

Sweetness of wine The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while ...

Regulations for Terms used to indicate sweetness of sparkling wine, Proseccos are labelled "Brut" (up to 12 grams per litre of residual sugar), "Extra Dry" (12–17 g/L) or "Dry" (17–32 g/L). Extra-Dry has been the dominant style made, but the amount of Brut is now increasing. Glera grapes made in a Prosecco style outside the DOC/DOCG has a non-protected designation, such as "IGT Veneto", are generally cheaper and of more variable quality and cannot be called Prosecco. While all Prosecco is currently vinified white, a rosé version has been proposed, but only for the DOC, as it was rejected by the DOCG. It is likely that such a rosé, which would include a small proportion of Pinot Noir vinified red, will be adopted only at the DOC level from the 2019 harvest and therefore be available to buy from as early as January 2020.

Prosecco Superiore DOCG

There are two Prosecco Superiore DOCGs, divided by the River Piave, in the Treviso province of Veneto. Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG is made on the hills between the towns of

, Valdobbiadene and

Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto is a city and '' comune'' situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the northeast of Italy, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers, borders with the following municipalities: Alpago ( BL), Bell ...

. Producers from Valdobbiadene have recently tended to skip mention of Conegliano on their front label, calling their wine ''Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore''. The second DOCG is the smaller Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG, produced on the hills near the town of

. Currently, in addition to the usual range of Prosecco styles, Asolo DOCG can also make an "Extra-Brut" (0-6 g/L), and Conegliano Valdobbiadene is expected to introduce this style soon. While the bulk of Prosecco DOC is grown on low-lying plains in an extended area covering 23,300 hectares, the DOCG Prosecco Superiore is grown exclusively on hillside vineyards in two far smaller growing areas, 6,860 hectares for Conegliano Valdobbiadene and 1,783 hectares for Asolo. The steepness of the hills means that everything, from pruning to picking, is principally done by hand. The manual aspect, especially for the harvest, further increases quality.

Superiore di Cartizze subzone

The hill of Cartizze is a high vineyard of of vines, owned by 140 growers. The Prosecco from its grapes, of which comparatively little is produced, is widely considered to be of the highest quality, or even the ''"

Grand Cru Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The ...

"'' of Prosecco. Theoretically, a hectare of Cartizze grape land was estimated to be worth in excess of 1 million US dollars in 2008 and its value was estimated to have increased to 1.5–2 million euros in 2015, the most for a vineyard in Italy. The sparkling wine produced from Cartizze has recently been named by producers as ''Superiore di Cartizze'', without mentioning Prosecco on the front label to further emphasize its territory. According to a local legend, Cartizze grapes traditionally were harvested last, as the vines were situated on steep slopes and hard to reach, which led to vintners discovering that this extended ripening period improved the flavour. Nonetheless, in a blind tasting at the 2006

Vinitaly Vinitaly is an international wine competition and exposition that is held annually in April in Verona city, region of Veneto, in northeast Italy. The event is exclusively for wine professionals featuring an average of 3000 wines from several do ...

trade fair, Cartizze ''spumanti'' were ranked consistently behind "normal" Prosecco.

Rive subzones

While Cartizze is a subzone at the top of the Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG quality pyramid, their Consorzio has also introduced official ''Rive'' delimitations, i.e. 15 communes that can make 43 different Rive subzone wines. These are named after the individual hills where the grapes originate, though this adds complexity and adoption so far is patchy. The intention is to highlight the different microclimates and distinct terroirs found in the DOCG. Asolo Superiore DOCG has not introduced subzones.

Col Fondo

Some winemakers are reviving the traditional Prosecco Col Fondo, refermented in the bottle but not disgorged, as the wines are left on their lees. This yeasty residue leaves fine sediment in the bottom of the bottle (''fondo'' in Italian) that imparts more complexity, texture and flavour. They can be served either clear or cloudy. These wines are labelled Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG, or Asolo Superiore DOCG. Col Fondo generally has a lower Frizzante-style of pressure.

Consumption

In Italy, Prosecco is a ubiquitously used wine. Outside Italy, it is most often drunk as an apéritif. As with other sparkling wines, Prosecco is served chilled. Except for Col Fondo and any Método Classico Prosecco, most Prosecco does not

ferment Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

in the bottle. Usually, it should be drunk young, preferably within three to five years of its

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

. However, high-quality Prosecco may be

aged Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

for up to seven years. The view that Prosecco cannot be aged has been challenged by other experts. A tasting in 2013 of wines produced between 1983 and 2013 demonstrated the longevity of the wines from one of their top producers. Prosecco has a minimum 10.5–11.5% alcohol by volume, depending on the DOC/DOCG rules. The flavour of Prosecco has been described as aromatic and crisp, bringing to mind yellow apple, pear, white peach, and apricot. Most Prosecco variants have intense primary aromas and are meant to taste fresh, light and comparatively simple. Most commonly Prosecco is served unmixed, but it also appears in several mixed drinks. It is the main ingredient in the original Bellini and

Spritz Spritz may refer to: * Hair spray * Spritz (cocktail), an aperitif consisting of wine, sparkling water, and liqueur * Spritz (wine), a term referring to small amounts of carbon dioxide added to wine * Spritz (cipher), a cryptographic stream cip ...

cocktails, and it can also be used in others, such as the Mimosa. With vodka and lemon sorbet, Prosecco is also an ingredient of the Italian mixed drink '' Sgroppino''.

References

External links

Consorzio di Tutela del Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG

Consorzio Asolo Montello DOCG

Consorzio di Tutela del Prosecco DOC
{{Authority control Prosecco Italian wine Sparkling wines Wines of Veneto White wine grape varieties