Quick Facts about Prosecco Wine

Wine Regions:

  • Veneto, Italy
    • Provinces: Treviso, Venice
  • Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
    • Provinces: Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste, and Udine

DOCGs:

  • Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG
  • Asolo Prosecco DOCG

Grape Varieties:

  • Primary Grape:
    • Glera
      • Must constitute at least 85% of the wine.
  • Other Grapes:
    • Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera Lunga, Pinot Noir (for rosé wine)
      • Can constitute up to 15% of the wine.

Harvesting:

  • Harvested by hand, typically in September.

Fermentation/Vinification:

  • Harvested  grapes are gently pressed to extract the juice.  The juice is separated from the skins and seeds to avoid any bitterness.
  • Primary Fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks.
  • Secondary Fermentation occurs in pressurized stainless steel tanks using the traditional Charmat-Martinotti method at a controlled temperature instead of in Bottles.  This allows for the bubbles to form within the tanks.  This results in a fruitier style of wine.

Aging:

  • Does not require extensive aging and is meant to be consumed while young.
  • Some produces may age the wine for a short period of time in the bottle before releasing it.

Filtration and Bottling:

  • Once the desired level of effervescence is achieved, the wine is filtered to remove any sediment or yeast particles. It is then bottled under pressure to retain the carbon dioxide and maintain the bubbles.

Wine Styles:

  • Spumante – Sparkling white wine.
  • Frizzante – Semi sparkling white wine
  • Tranquillo – Still white wine
  • Spumante Rosé -Sparkling Rosé wine (85-90% Glera, 10-15% Pinot Noir)

Prosecco usually has a lighter effervescence compared to Champagne or other traditional sparkling wines.

Wine Classifications:

  • Extra Brut – Less than 12 grams/litre of residual sugar
  • Brut – Up to 12 g/L of residual sugar
  • Extra Dry – 12–17 g/L of residual sugar
  • Dry – 17–32 g/L of residual sugar

Wine Characteristics:

  • Nose: Green apple, pear, citrus fruits, white flowers.
  • Medium to high acidity (to counter the fruity flavors).
  • Light body.

Wineries I have Visited: