How to always choose the most delicious prosecco

Although there are plenty of fans – you can happily pour me a glass of prosecco – prosecco is often seen as the inferior younger sibling of champagne. Unfairly so, because it is a completely different wine, and quality prosecco certainly does make it onto the market. Since our colleague Sophie from Italiamo was buried in her WSET3 books – and passed with flying colors – she is happy to give you a lesson in prosecco.

The difference between prosecco and champagne

Champagne is made with a second fermentation in the bottle. This gives the wine flavors of bread and toast. But you really do not want those in a glass of fruity prosecco. Neutral grapes are used for champagne; grapes with lots of flavor do not benefit from the traditional champagne process. They come into their own better with the tank method, also known as the Metodo Italiano or Charmat Method.

Fruity and floral

The base wine for prosecco is made like a normal white wine, with as little contact with oxygen as possible so that the fruity and floral flavors are preserved. Instead of in the bottle, the second fermentation is initiated in a tank that retains the carbon dioxide produced. The wine is then bottled under pressure. That saves quite a bit of work and time, which is reflected in the price and in the fact that winemakers far beyond Italy use the method.

Prosecco DOC

Prosecco is made from the glera grape, which was once called prosecco. When the sparkling wine became a worldwide hit, it was copied everywhere under the same name. The Italians did not agree with that, so they changed the name of the grape. A grape name is not protected, after all; only regions are. Prosecco from Prosecco received the quality designation Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC). As a result, other countries were no longer allowed to put the name on their bottles, because prosecco could now only come from Prosecco.

Finding good prosecco

The production area throughout Veneto and Friuli is enormous, and a lot of rubbish is produced. But if you use good grapes, you can certainly make something beautiful from prosecco. A good example will not match champagne – although Franciacorta certainly does – but it is more a matter of taste whether you prefer champagne or, for example, cava to prosecco. The hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene produce the better prosecco. If you also spot the term cartizze or rive on the bottle, you know you are really onto a good thing. These are the superior vineyards within the DOC.

What does the label say?

• Prosecco Superiore is a DOCG and one step above a DOC
• A screw cap usually indicates that you have a frizzante rather than a spumante; it therefore has relatively fewer bubbles
• Millesimato means that the grapes come from a single vintage, something that generally only happens in good years because the quality is not consistent
• Prosecco is most often drunk Extra Dry, while champagne is traditionally sold more as Brut; Extra Dry has slightly more residual sugar.

Read also:

• Let’s go: in Italy there is a fountain flowing with free red wine 
• Viewing tip: Widow Clicquot, the impressive story behind Veuve Clicquot’s champagne
• This is the spritz everyone in Italy is drinking now

Source: Italiamo