Prosecco as many of us know, is this lovely and lively Italian bubbly that fulfils every level of desire, basic or a posh! It’s the go-to drink be it with colleagues after work, exhausted parents on a Friday night, a casual meet-up with friends .…or practically an anytime drink that does not need a reason to be explained or justified. I am sure we all agree that Prosecco is what made fizz an everyday drink to relish. In a world fraught with stresses and strains, Prosecco makes it easy to celebrate successes- be it big or small. One may even say, very thankful that we have prosecco, a reason to celebrate! Else we would be left with those rare formal celebratory occasions or an occasional invite to a funky uptown party to sip Champagne with the rich and famous. But lets see, where and how this began?

Location, Climate and Topography

Located in the North East of Italy, further up inland from Venice in the region of Veneto, Prosecco DOCG covers the rolling hills from Conegliano (east) to Valdobiaddene (west). Once part of the sea bed, the lands rose up with the dynamic tectonic movements of the plates underneath, from which the Dolomites were born and it is in a section of these hills that the Prosecco DOCG vineyards are spread out. The soils are heavy clay and limestone interspersed with sea fossils with high levels of sodium from the sea. While the eastern part (Conegliano) has younger clay soils of sedimentary origin (aged about 25 million years) which rise up to altitudes of 200-450 feet, the western parts (Valdobbiadenne) are formed of older soils, dated 150 million years, with the soil structure more of glacial moraine, sandstone with some clay. In terms of climate, Conegliano also is warmer than Valdobbiaddene as the latter is higher and more exposed to Alpine winds from the west. Hence harvest in Conegliano happens atleast 4 weeks before Valdobbiaddene, which have some highly steep aspects that make them suitable only for hand harvesting.

How is Prosecco made?

Made out of Glera grapes, the region took its name from the grapes that were originally called Prosecco. In 2009, the grape name was changed to Glera so as to adopt and register Prosecco as a region (grapes cannot be registered as a region) as a protected geographical appellation. Conegliano Valdobbiadene, also called Prosecco Superiore DOCG was established in 2009. Although Glera is the main grape in Prosecco, it is legally possible to add international grapes such as Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and indigenous grapes like Verdiso and Bianchetta up to a maximum of 15%. Verdiso is credited for adding aromatic green fruit intensity while Bianchetta is better known for its acidity. The significant feature that makes it different from Champagne is that in most cases, the second fermentation takes place in tank ie Charmat method (as opposed to a bottle). Originally invented by Frederico Martinotti in 1895, the autoclaves or pressurized tanks were later designed by Eugène Charmat in 1910 and hence called as Charmat method.  This feature made it is what helped mass production of prosecco to take off as fermentation did not need to be restricted to manually laborious individual bottles (one of the reasons why Champagnes are expensive). However, there are variations in this production which are now coming into highlight, as Prosecco DOCG undergoes evolution in the current times as explained below.

Does Prosecco have a Vintage Variation?

Yes…to a certain extent. While the climate is continental and alpine, summers are usually warm with a high diurnal range of temperature variation. The region gets a fair share of rains in Spring until May. The growing season in between (June to August) is fairly dry while the harvest season of September to October is prone to rains, thanks to the Mediterranean influence. Vintage variation can occur during times, when rain falls in spring and then the region remains dry during the harvest (such as in 2016 which proved to be a good year) while 2017 witnessed a very dry spring but heavy rains during September right around harvest, that did end up with disruption of the ripening pattern. This could affect the quality of grapes causing dilution and as such minor inconsistency amongst vintages.

Where does Prosecco stand today and what is the future like?

Since the beginning of 2010, Prosecco has been witnessing a boom with astronomical levels of sales in the UK. Year on year its growth was phenomenal. Nearly quarter of the bottles produced in the Prosecco region have been reported to be sold in the UK over the years from then. UHY Hacker reports that Sparkling Wine growth grew by 79% between 2012 and 2017. The increase was primarily attributed to rising quantities of affordable and affable Prosecco which was seen as a big threat to the erstwhile high and unreachable prices commanded by Champagne. The UK trade rejoiced and partook in this easy appeal of Prosecco because of the easy, floral and fruity drinking style of Prosecco and its versatility with food pairing.

However, recent reports of UHY tracker noted a different trend. Between 2017 and 2018, the growth of sparkling wine was a minuscule 5% with Prosecco, in particular, reported to have been overstocked in supermarkets, possibly due to a mix of factors such as falling pound prices, Brexit uncertainly and influx of quality English sparkling wines. After all these years of Prosecco charm, has the novelty of Prosecco waned? The mass market appeal which made Prosecco popular and savvy looks like the very reason that is tarnishing its image, with supermarkets selling Prosecco DOC at a discounted rate of a mere £5/bottle, driving down, not just price but also its appeal. On the one hand, while the increased demand initially meant an opportunity to plant more vineyards and produce more to fill the demand, the DOC land is now is working at nearly full capacity covering a whopping 23,000ha of vineyards. Planting any more carries a significant risk of erosion because of the sensitive geology and topography on which its laid out. “There has been a collective lack of curiosity to find anything other than Prosecco DOC because we have been so price focussed all this time. Hence the ubiquity of Prosecco DOC. And then there is also the misogynistic attitude now attached to Prosecco, as ‘women’s drink’ that really doesn’t help with its image” notes Sarah Abbott. So…has Prosecco really lost the battle to Champagne or English Fizz?

To find out more, I went to attend Master of Wine, Sarah Abbott’s masterclass with her research and findings on Prosecco. Sarah has been working with Prosecco Superiore producers over the last couple of years and the masterclass highlighted a whole new class and style of Prosecco and the innovative works of the younger generation Prosecco Superiore producers from this region, who are another league of their own. It was revealed to us that these high quality, site-specific producers are never tempted to export anywhere due to the high demand within their own country! Nearly all of their produce is allocated to top class Italian restaurants or quality wine bars, premium outlets and cellars with the balance being scooped up by neighbouring Swiss and German wine aficionados. This is the world of “Prosecco Superiore” producing some of the most stunning Proseccos from the DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata, the highest level of restrictive identification to quality appellation), that have the potential for raising the bar for Prosecco. Prosecco Superiore comprises of the following delimited geographical zones (in ascending order of exclusivity):

1)    Conegliano Valdobbiaddene DOCG (15 municipalities cover 7,700 ha)

2)    Conegliano Valdobbiadene Rive DOCG (43 Rive cover 300 ha)

3)    Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG, the smallest and the most precious Grand Crus of Prosecco (107 ha with roughly 50 producers)