PROSECCO Flashcards
What variety is Prosecco made of? Where?
Glera. Veneto.
Glera characteristics.
Vigorous, semi-aromatic, high yielding. susceptible to grapevine yellows, powdery and downy mildew and drought in summer.
It needs to be trained long as first two buds do not bear fruit.
Name common training, pruning and trellising options for Glera
- Sylvoz
- Doudle-arched cane
- Guyot
What is Sylvoz, and what are its advantages and disadvantages?
A high cordon system with shoots hanging downwards. Well suited to high vigour, fertile sites on flatter land where high yields are desired. The hight of the cordons provides frost protection.
++ Inexpensive to set up, minimises winter pruning and suitable for machine harvesting = reduces cost.
– May encourage overcropping, requires careful monitoring + trimming of canopy to prevent excessive shading and difficult to distribute clusters evenly
What is double-cordon, and what are its advantages and disadvantages?
A form of replacement cane pruning where canes are bent into arches.
++ Improves evenness of growth and fruitfulness
++ Increases ventilation of canopy = reduces incidence of fungal diseases
– Costly and labour intensive to maintain open canopy by repeated shoot thinning
Where is Guyot training used?
On flatter land where mechanisation is possible and allows cost saving.
What is the climate in Prosecco DOC?
Warm and continental with moderate rainfall. Flat plains have moist air and fog from rivers = more sprays required to combat disease.
What is the climate in Prosecco DOCG?
Hillier areas with cooling influences from altitude and higher diurnal temperature ranges = longer, slower ripening, resulting in wines with higher acidity and more intense fruit flavours.
How does flatter land and mechanised vineyard management affect wine quality in Prosecco DOC?
Large vineyards easy to work and economies of scale to produce high yields contribute to wines of low fruit flavour concentration.
What factors influence the best wines of Prosecco DOCG?
South-facing hillside sites with poorer soils and better drainage = reduced fertility. Greater day/night temperature differences and slower development, longer season and higher natural acidity.
Lower yields of higher flavour concentration.
How are steeper parts managed?
With Ciglione - terraced with grassy banks that require costly maintenance and repairs.
Work is done by hand, especially for Cartizze, Rive and Sui Lieviti.
What is the reason for whole-bunch pressing?
To preserve primary fruit flavours, especially when fruit is hand harvested.
What method is used to make Prosecco?
Tank - primary fermentation at 18ºC to preserve primary fruit, no MLF to preserve acidity, second fermentation in tank at 12-15ºC over a month to preserve primary fruit. Wine spends short time on lees, chilled, filtered and bottled.
What is Charmat Lungo?
The process of keeping the wine in contact with lees for at least 9 months to add complexity.
What is Prosecco Col Fondo?
aka Sui Lieviti (on lees) - Lightly cloudy, dry wines with a frizzante style produced by second fermentation in bottle and undisgorged. Can be applied to DOCG or DOC. Bottle must say rifermentazione in bottiglia. Not made for long term ageing.
