It is the most drunk Italian wine in the world. Its perlage is fascinating, its aromas sincere and inviting, its immediate and irresistible drink. A glass of Prosecco is enough, and for many it's time for an aperitif. An Italian excellence that has its heart in the province of Treviso, especially between the hills of Prosecco di Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, the most famous production centers, a splendid example of that wine-growing landscape in which nature and the hand of man find perfect symbiosis. But despite the well-deserved fame, not everyone knows some secrets of Prosecco. So here is a small summary to extricate yourself from the exhibition numbers in this splendid world. Just think of the bottles produced every year: 486 million, which in fact make it the most consumed sparkling wine in the world.
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Prosecco: a wine with an ancient history
Prosecco is a really existing toponym, a small town in the province of Trieste. And it is from these areas that the famous Pucino wine arrives, already loved by the Romans, as Pliny the Elder attests in his Naturalis Historia and later the doctor Galen. And already at the beginning of the sixteenth century the wines from the Prosecco area were mentioned in some studies, such as those of the scholar Pietro Bonomo.
Over the centuries the Prosecco production area has expanded, finding its election in the Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. This is demonstrated in 1962 by the birth of the Consortium for the protection of Prosecco di Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, but also by the inauguration in 1996 of the Strada del Prosecco, which crosses the territory of these two villages in the Treviso area, the first Italian wine route, proving tourist that gradually becomes more and more evident. In 1969 the DOC was recognized, while in 2009 the Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene even obtained the DOCG.
Prosecco: the glera protagonist
Il Prosecco è il nome del vino, ma non esiste come vitigno. Il suo principale vitigno è infatti la glera, vitigno a bacca bianca autoctono del nord Italia. Assieme alla glera, possono essere utilizzate altre varietà, fino a un massimo del 15%: Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio e Pinot Nero, vinificato in bianco.
Prosecco: un vino, tanti vini
Il Prosecco è un vino spumante, certo, ma come viene prodotto? La sua prima caratteristica è il metodo di spumantizzazione, che lo differenzia dagli spumanti metodo classico. Nel caso del Prosecco, il processo di rifermentazione che dà origine alle bollicine avviene in speciali botti (autoclavi) a pressione controllata (si dice metodo Martinotti o charmat). Nel caso del metodo Classico, invece, avviene in bottiglia. Il risultato è un vino più immediato, dalla bollicina meno elegante ma più festosa. Ed ecco la principale differenza tra prosecco e vino spumante classico. Depending on the sugars present in the wine, different types can be distinguished, from brut nature (between 0 and 3 g / l of sugar present), to extra brut (from 0 to 6 g / l), brut (less than 12 g / l), extra dry (12 to 17 g / l), dry (17 to 32 g / l) and demi sec (32 to 50 g / l). Then there is the Prosecco Rosé, a novelty in recent years, and in recent years the Prosecco refermented in the bottle (often called Colfondo) has come forward: a traditional technique which, thanks to the refinement on natural grape yeasts, gives life to a sparkling wine with a slight haze that makes the taste sensations softer and rounder.
The territories of Prosecco
We have already mentioned the Strada del Prosecco and Colli Conegliano Valdobbiadene wines. With its 90 kilometers of route, it offers the wine tourist an extraordinary scenery, between hills of uninterrupted vineyards, but also extraordinary villages rich in history (and enchanting villas), together with medieval testimonies, hermitages, secular churches and traces of rural history and civil. A tourist route made even more fascinating by the wine tourism vocation of the Prosecco cellars, now available not only for simple tastings, but for real experiences in the vineyard, cellar and perhaps in an attached spa. And from the gastronomic field of the province of Treviso, which goes well with a glass of Prosecco.
Prosecco: the king of aperitifs
The spread of Spritz, the classic Venetian aperitif that has become synonymous with Italianness and taste throughout the world, contributed greatly to the boom of Prosecco in the world. At the base of Prosecco (an Extra Dry version is preferable) is added Aperol (or Select), a slice of orange, a little soda, for an intriguing glass since its color, and then to the tasting, never too alcoholic, ideal for who wants to party. The fame of Spritz then contributed to the creation of many other Prosecco-based cocktails: all those sparkling protagonists at aperitif time.