Prosecco 101: Why This Oft-Dismissed Sparkling Wine Is Rising to New Heights
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Willcox Drink Features Prosecco
If you don’t love Prosecco, chances are, the person sitting next to you does. No one—even Italians!—drinks more of the fun fizz than Americans, with imports up a whopping 40% last year according to the Prosecco DOC. (Italians bought about 120 million bottles last year, while the U.S. imported 134 million).
At first glance, many see Prosecco as a less-expensive, less-elegant, definitely wilder cousin of Champagne, but there’s more to her if you’re willing to look deeper. Prosecco, while offering all the fun and fizz a coupe can contain, is becoming increasingly cerebral.
“Over the last decade, we’ve been keeping a keen eye on the region of Prosecco, one of the more polarizing wines that we place on our lists,” says Sam Bogue, beverage director of San Francisco’s Flour + Water Hospitality Group, which has Flour + Water, Penny Roma and others under its molto Italiano umbrella. “Key to our evolving understanding is taking into account the remarkably large footprint of the region, which leads to a massive variance in producer and terroir quality.”
As a general rule, Bogue says, the southern stretch of the Prosecco DOC near the Po River Valley produces “less interesting wines” with “heavy sugar additions.” The northern subzone of Valdobbiadene, with its poor, rocky, limestone-rich soils are where it’s at, he insists. Terroir is eternal, but the understanding of it can change slowly over time.
In 2009, when the Italian government officially promoted Prosecco’s quality designation from Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) to Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), the perception of the classic party drink slowly began shifting. IGT and DOC are part of the Italian wine classification system, which was launched in the 1960s. IGT is a tier above Vino da Tavola, or table wine. Italian IGTs are based on geographical areas and include a range of quality and prices, and currently, there are more than 120. DOCs are based on geographical areas, and wines with the DOC label have undergone analysis and third-party quality tests. With DOCs, regulations dictating the varieties of grapes that can be grown and how they can be grown are stricter than they are with IGTs. There are more than 330 DOCs in Italy.
While Prosecco, a longtime, much-beloved party animal, still knows how to rock out, she has a serious side too. Read on for a 360-degree view of this intriguing wine and how the region is evolving.
Terroir + Grapes
The Prosecco DOC encompasses nine provinces across northern Italy, in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Within the DOC, the Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadine DOC was also upgraded in 2009 to Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garangtita (DOCG). DOCGs are based on geographical regions and have the strictest quality controls in place. There are fewer than 100 DOCGs in Italy.
The grape used to make Prosecco was previously known as Prosecco, but in 2009, that also changed, and the grape is now identified as Glera. DOC regulations also allow the inclusion of up to 15 percent of other grapes, including Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Glera Lunga, Perera, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco.
In 2020, the labeling of Prosecco Rosé was approved on DOC bottlings, with 85 percent Glera and 10 to 15 percent Pinot Noir grapes.
The most basic Prosecco is simply labeled DOC, can be sourced from anywhere in the region and is often a blend of several vineyards situated in the plains. A step up is Prosecco Trieste DOC and Prosecco Treviso DOC, two provinces within the DOC with smaller areas and stricter quality controls.
The DOCGs represent the pinnacle of Prosecco production, and each one has its own merits, but all of them are small and occupy hilly sites near the base of the Alps. There is the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, which has two sub-appellations, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Rive and Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze. Asolo Prosecco is less well-known but also produces excellent Proseccos.
In the DOCG regions, vineyards enjoy the long, sunny days of the valley and cooler evenings, which lock in brighter flavors. The soils in the DOCG regions are primarily mineral-rich clay loam and calcium-rich marl. These soils are widely believed to produce wines with fresher flavors, greater depth and complexity of flavor.
Prosecco vs. Champagne
All bubbles are not created in the same method. Champagne, and sparkling wines made in the traditional Champagne method, become bubbly through a second in-bottle fermentation.
Boiled down to its essence, the process goes something like this: A winemaker fills a bottle with still wine, adds yeast and sugar and seals it with a crown or cork. The yeast feasts on the sugar and burps out CO2, or bubbles. The process adds toasty brioche flavors, texture, complexity. Yes, when you’re toasting to major life events—or just another Tuesday, survived—you are literally drinking the burps of a microscopic fungus… and they’re delicious.
Back to Prosecco. Traditionally, Prosecco is made using the Charmat-Martinotti method (sometimes also called the tank method or autoclave); it was developed in the late 19th century by Federico Martinotti and Eugène Charmat. It’s faster and less expensive than the Champagne method, but it still involves a team of microscopic fungi.
Here’s what happens: Still wine is put in a pressurized tank, sugar and yeast are added and the fermentation process begins, typically lasting two to three weeks. As the yeast eat the sugar, the “burping” begins and the wine is carbonated on a faster and larger scale than it can be when the traditional method is deployed. The wine is cooled when the desired pressure and sugar level has been reached, which stops fermentation. The wine rests for a few months and goes through the final bottling process.
“In Prosecco, we use the second tank for fermentation and not the Champagne method because it suits the Glera grape best,” says Primo Franco, owner of one of the oldest and most beloved Prosecco houses, Nino Franco, in the Valdobbiadene DOCG. “The shorter process preserves the freshness, the fruitiness and the floral notes [of the grape]. You don’t want the secondary notes that the Champagne method brings when you’re using Glera, which is extremely aromatic, high in acidity and naturally lower in alcohol.”
The Prosecco Revolution
Franco is one of the key architects of the slow-building Prosecco revolution. The Franco family has been making wine in Valdobbiadene since 1919, when his grandfather Antonio returned home after serving on the front lines in World War I. He bought a home with a winery and launched a wine business.
Initially, the Francos bought grapes and bulk wine and focused on a negociant-style business.
“When the Consorzio di Tutela del Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene was founded in 1962, we had about 1,354 hectares [3,345 acres] under vine,” Franco says. Today, there are around 23,600 acres under vine. (The Prosecco DOC broadly has 76,000 acres of vineyards). “Most growers had less than 1 hectare [2.47 acres] apiece. They couldn’t afford the equipment to make Prosecco, so they sold their grapes to us and a few other families.”
When his father, Nino, died in 1983, Franco took the reins. Around that time, Franco discovered old Prosecco bottles from the 1940s and 1950s, sourced from hillside sites in Valdobbiadene. He was inspired by what he found inside the bottles, which, despite fading, showed vibrance and verve.
“I wanted to show the world the beauty of the Glera grape,” Franco says.
He began focusing on showing off Glera’s brightness and beauty by bottling single-vineyard sites and acting as an unofficial, unpaid ambassador from Valdobbiadene to the world.
“No one took me seriously at first,” he admits. “Everyone here in the region thought I would fail, but we were lucky.”
Franco traveled tirelessly and leveraged key relationships and accounts—like Le Cirque in New York City, where the most powerful members of Manhattan’s business and media world dined—to effectively demonstrate to influential people how beautiful Prosecco is.
“It was my vision and dream to share the flavors of my home with the world,” Franco says.
Curious to taste Prosecco’s serious side?
Traditional, Classic, Terroir-Driven
Nino Franco Grave Di Stecca Brut: This vineyard is a point of pride in the Franco family’s single-vineyard Proseccos. Nestled around the Franco family’s home, it resembles a classic French clos because it is completely surrounded by high stone walls. The Prosecco is rich, textured and aromatic. Green apples, sage, flint, lemon cream, toasted almond. $36.
Champagne-Style Prosecco
While Franco prefers the Glera grape’s freshness preserved via the Charmat method, other producers are eager to explore what happens when it’s transformed via the traditional second fermentation in bottle.
Valdo Numero 10, a Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG: Made in the classic method, this 100% Glera Prosecco is matured in the bottle sur lie (which creates that toasty, brioche-like flavor) for 10 months, disgorged and then cellared for six months before hitting the market. This extra time leads to a finer bubble, a creamier foam and more structure, with secondary notes of peaches and biscuits not typically found in Prosecco but with the liveliness and brightness that Prosecco is famous for. $22.
Think Pink
Rosé Prosecco, as Franco notes, doesn’t have a history in the region, but that hasn’t stopped wine lovers looking for an affordable, tasty glass of pink bubbles from seeking it out.
Bisol Jeio Prosecco Rosé: This is one of the most highly rated Prosecco Rosés on the market, and it is priced accordingly. While most quality-focused Prosecco Rosés hover around $12 to $16, this one goes for $22. It is delicate, balanced and bright. Strawberries, red cherries, tangerines, wet stones.
Prefer Prosecco’s Fun Side?
If you don’t require a side of deep thoughts with your bubbles but you want it to be delicious, ditch the O.J. and order—or whip up—a spritz.
Spritzes took over American bars in the summer of 2023, and autumn’s arrival hasn’t slowed them down. The classic Italian aperitif is made of Prosecco, Aperol, club soda and a generous slice of orange. Budget Prosecco is fine, but make sure it’s Brut or Extra Brut, because you don’t want too much sweetness. Mionetto Extra Brut is easy to find and offers the brightness and crispness you want in a spritz. $14.