9. Prosecco Flashcards
Name the following with regard to Prosecco:
- Primary grape variety
- Area of Italy it is primarily made
- Method of Production
- Glera
- North-east Italy
- Tank
What are the primary aroma/flavor characteristics of Prosecco?
- Light-medium intensity apple and pear
- Light body
- Medium to med+ acidity
- Low/medium alcohol
- Sweetness ranges from Brut to demi-sec, extra dry most common
- Both spumante and frizzante
What are the quality and price points of Prosecco?
Prosecco DOC - acceptable to good; mid-priced, some inexpensive
DOCGs - good to very good; mid-priced, some premium
What geographic area comprises Prosecco DOC?
The former IGTs covering nine entire provinces in the regions of Veneto and Friuli - stretches from Trieste to Vicenza.
What GIs may be added to Prosecco DOC? Which GI is the most important?
Treviso or Trieste if grapes grown and wine made within the respective area. Treviso much more important.
How are Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG wines labeled?
Producers must use either or both names of the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Within spumante category, “Superiore” may be added and/or “Prosecco” omitted. In this case “Superiore” is part of the name of the wine and implies no difference in winemaking.
What second DOCG makes Prosecco?
Asolo Prosecco DOCG - within spumante category “Superiore” may be added
What was the original name of the Glera varietal and why was it changed?
Originally named Prosecco. Changed so Prosecco could be used to designate defined areas that were entitled to use the name and to prevent other regions or countries from exploiting the success of the name.
What is the production breakdown (percentages) for Prosecco DOC and the DOCGs?
Prosecco DOC- 82%
Prosecco DOCG - 16%
Asolo DOCG - 2%
What are the climate conditions of the DOC and DOCG regions?
Prosecco DOC - warm and moderate continental w/ moderate rainfall. Flat plain affected by moist air and fog from rivers, increasing # of sprays needed to combat disease.
Prosecco DOCG areas hillier - cooling influences from altitude and higher diurnal temp range - longer, slower ripening. Wines from DOCG can have higher acidity and more intense fruit flavors.
What are the characteristics of Glera? What are primary threats in the vineyard to this variety and vineyard management challenges?
Vigorous, semi-aromatic variety capable of very high yields. Susceptible to
1. millerandage
2. powdery & downy mildew
3. drought in summer
4. grapevine yellows
First 2 buds don’t bear much fruit; has to be trained long, typically on vertically trellised systems w/ 8-12 buds. Low/medium densities due to vigor. Permitted yields are high
True or false: Prosecco wines must be 100% Glera
FALSE. Up to 15% of other local varieties or certain international varieties are permitted.
What are the 3 primary vineyard training methods used for Glera grapes?
- Sylvoz
- Double-arched cane
- Guyot
Describe the Sylvoz training method. What are the advantages and disadvantages for using this method?
High cordon system with shoots that hang downwards. Advantages:
1. Well-suited to high vigour sites such as on fertile, flatter land of Prosecco DOC where aim is for high yields, but sometimes used in the DOCGs.
2. Inexpensive to create initially
3. Minimizes winter pruning
4. Suitable for machine harvesting
Disadvantages:
1. May encourage over-cropping
2. Requires careful monitoring & trimming of canopy to avoid excessive shading
3. Difficult to distribute clusters evenly
Describe the Double-arched cane training system. What are its advantages and disadvantages?
Form of replacement cane pruning where the prunes are bent into arches.
Advantages:
1. Improves the evenness of growth and fruitfulness of Glera
2. Increases ventilation of the canopy, reducing fungal diseases.
Disadvantages
1. Individual branches must be tied in on every plant (adding to cost)
2. Care taken to maintain open canopy by repeated shoot thinning (added cost)
VERY COMMON ON HILLSIDE SITES OF PROSECCO DOCG
What sites is it most common to find Guyot training?
Flatter areas where after winter pruning it is possible to work with machines.
What is the aspect of the best sites in the DOCG? Why?
South-facing hillside sites
- Reduced fertility - poorer soils and better drainage than on flatter sites
- Greater day/night temp shift so slower growth
- Longer season for flavor to develop in grapes and higher acidity
What is a ciglione?
Grassy banks used to terrace steepest parts of DOCG
What are the 3 categories of wines that require hand harvesting?
- Cartizze
- Rive
- Sui lieviti
Describe the winemaking steps for Prosecco
- If grapes hand-picked, winemaker chooses whole-bunch press (which some believe preserves primary fruit flavors). Otherwise destem & press
- Base wine fermentation for 15-20 days at 64F to preserve primary fruit
- Malolactic conversion blocked - same reason + retain acidity
- 2nd fermentation in tank - 1 month @ 54-59F.
- Short time on lees (few weeks) wines chilled, filtered and bottled
- No aging requirement - emphasis on freshness
How are the sweetness levels of Prosecco adjusted?
Traditionally made with no dosage. Winemaker calculates how much sugar is required as tirage to provide both the required level of CO2 (spumante or frizzante) and remaining sugar in final bottled wine (Brut, Extra Dry, Dry). Since 2014 possible to adjust sweetness when wine racked off the lees of 2nd fermentation.
What is Charmat lungo?
A longer form of tank method that keeps the wine in contact with the lees for at least 9 months - lees are agitated with an insert within the tank.
What are 2 other measures that some quality-focused winemakers take for extra complexity, especially in the DOCG area?
- Slow 2nd fermentation by lowering temperature
2. Age wine on lees for a few months
What is Prosecco Col Fondo?
- Traditional style typically producing lightly cloudy, dry wines in frizzante style.
- Can be applied to DOC or DOCG wines.
- Bottle label must state “rifermentazione in bottiglia” (refermentation in bottle).
- 2nd fermentation in bottle.
- Wine left undisgorged and is bone dry.
- Typically finished with crown cap and contains sediment.
- Can be aged for a short time.
- After 2020 the Prosecco DOCG regulations will require wines to be called “sui lieviti” (on the lees)
What are maximum allowable yields for DOC and DOCG wines?
Prosecco DOC - 125 hl/ha
Prosecco DOCG - 94.5 hl/ha; if mention of “Rive” - 90 hl/ha; Superior e di Cartizze DOCG or Cartizze - 85 hl/ha
Asolo Prosecco DOCG - 94.5 hl/ha
True or false - there are no minimum aging requirements for Prosecco wines
TRUE - goal is to express primary fruit
When is the term “Rive” used
“Rive” means the slope of a steep hill. It’s followed by a place name (e.g. Rive di Soligo), referencing a single commune or vineyard.
Requirements:
1. Grapes must be grown in one of 43 Rive
2. Hand-picked
3. Harvested at lower maximum yields.
4. Vintage must be shown on label
What is considered the highest quality area, producing wines with a fuller body? What are the requirements of this area?
Superiore di Cartizze DOCG (Cartizze DOCG)
Requirements:
1. Grapes grown in historic delimited single vineyard of 108 hectares located in Valdobbiadene
2. Lower yield
3. Must be spumante style
4. Normally residual sugar above Brut level
Is the production of Prosecco increasing or decreasing? Support answer with any relevant statistics
Increasing. Production rose from 1MM to more than 12MM bottles in period 2013-2018
Discuss the importance of Prosecco DOC in the worldwide sparkling wine market
Prosecco DOC accounts for roughly half of Italy’s sparkling wine production and has become the world leader in the export of sparkling wine by volume. It more than doubled in production from 2011 to 2016. 3/4 is spumante; 1/4 frizzante
Discuss the size and concentration of growers and producers of both base wine and sparkling wine
- The average vineyard holding only around 2.5 hectares.
- 10,000 growers, 1,200 producers of base wines and only 350 makers of sparkling wines.
- Most growers sell to merchants and coops.
- Coops account for just over half of grapes grown.
- Private companies bottle 75% of the wine. So coops make large volumes of base wine that they sell to private companies to finish.
What is the split between domestic consumption and export for Prosecco DOC wines? What are the primary export markets? How does this differ for Prosecco DOCG wines?
Prosecco DOC: 75% export, 25% domestic UK, USA and Germany - account for 2/3 of all exports Prosecco DOCG: 40% export, 60% domestic Germany, UK and Switzerland
What 2 category levels were added in 2019, and why?
DOC Prosecco added Brut Nature and Extra Brut, for those looking for drier styles.
What are 2 examples of challenges to protecting the Prosecco name?
- Some Australian growers continue to use the name Prosecco for their Glera-based sparkling wines.
- All Prosecco denominations require wine to be sold in bottle and they have to stop other sparkling wines that are sold on tap from being marketed as Prosecco
What is the most common style of Prosecco DOCG wine?
Extra Dry (60%), followed by Brut (30%)
What are the 2 primary business challenges for Prosecco DOCG wines?
- Improve recognition of its potentially higher quality wine among consumers who see Prosecco as a generic brand
- Achieve higher price point for their wine.
