Impossible not knowing Prosecco, the white wine with a pale yellow color, fresh, shiny, brilliant. It is appreciated mostly in its fizzy version and is very popular since the ’90s also because is an essential ingredient of the famous cocktail Aperol Spritz. Everybody knows it, but here below you find 6 things that you probably didn’t know just yet.
1) Prosecco is originally from the area of Trieste.
Even though its best expressions come from the vineyards in Veneto, the origins of this wine are in the area that surrounds the actual city of Trieste, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in a small town called Prosecco. During the centuries, the cultivation of the vines used for producing this wine moved westwards and southwards. As you will learn reading below, the little town had a great role in the creation of the homonym DOC.
2) Prosecco is the Italian wine most exported abroad.
According to ISTAT (Italian Statistics Institute) in 2017 more than 2 million hectolitres of Prosecco were exported abroad, for a total value of over 800 million Euro. The main destinations of Prosecco are the USA, UK, and Germany.
3) Prosecco is among the most copied wines in the world.
Right because of the huge success it had around the world, Prosecco has been copied by many. For example in Brasil, where the Garibaldi was born, in Croatia, or in Germany, where you can find the Prosek. They both have little in common with the Italian original, apart from the name: in fact, even if the original production area was already defined in 1969, there weren’t regulations to avoid the usage of its name on others products.
With the aim to protect Italian producers and Made in Italy, Prosecco producers leverage a European Union law which allows registering the name of a product when connected to a specific location or a historic region. In this way, in 2009 the DOC Prosecco was created, including the territory of Venice, Treviso, Belluno, Padova and Vicenza in Veneto and all the territories of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Counting 9 territories, this DOC is the largest of Italy and had to extend from the area where it is produced at its best to the area where the town that has given the name to the wine, Prosecco, locates.
4) All about the label
Together with the DOC Prosecco, also the DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, DOCG Prosecco Asolo, and the special area Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze DOCG were born, where the last one is the most prestigious one.
Being Valdobbiadene the location from which the best Prosecco comes, the producer of the area prefer to write just Valdobbiadene, and omit Conegliano, from their labels; on the opposite, producers from Conegliano have all the interests to indicate both the towns on their bottles.
5) Prosecco is not only Sparkling
This wine is produced in three variants: sparkling, fizzy and calm, also called “tranquillo" (= laidback).
In the fizzy Prosecco, as in the sparkling version, there is a precise amount of CO2, but in this one, the second fermentation happens in the bottle. The color of both these wines is pale yellow, the perfume rich of fruity and flowery notes, the flavor fresh and persistent.
The calm Prosecco doesn’t have bubbles, as no second fermentation happens during its production. It is produced with the grapes coming from the less productive vines, which are harvested well mature. It has a bright yellow color and a delicate taste of apple, pear, almond, and honey.
The first production of Prosecco Rosé is planned for 2020.
6) There are many recipes for producing Prosecco
The main variety of grapes used to produce Prosecco is Glera, which has long and large clusters with golden grapes. Glera must be used at least for the 85%, while the rest may be local grapes like Verdiso, Perera, Bianchetta or the international Pinot and Chardonnay.
For the Rosé version that will be launched in 2020, there will be used Pinot Noir grapes.
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