Prosecco

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Processo Superiore DOCG
- 15 communes between towns Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in province of Treviso (Veneto)
- 6,000+ ha of vines
Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG
- valley south of C-V, 17 communes
- 1,000 ha under vine

• DOCGs established in 2009

Prosecco DOC
- grapes sourced form 9 provinces in Veneto and Fruili-Venezia Guilia in NE Italy

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Warm, continental
Sea breezes
cool winds from the alps

DOCG’s

• higher rainfall (flowering & humidity related-diseases)
• hills 50-500m in altitude

Question 3

Vineyard

Answer 3

DOCGs:

• steep south-facing slopes up to 500m, wide diurnal range,
• thin well-draining soils to control vigour of Glera: sandstone, schist, limestone and clay

Yield limits:

• DOCG: 13.5 ton/ha (almost 100 hl/ha)
• • Rive: 13 ton/ha
• • Cartizze: 12 ton/ha
• DOC: 18 ton/ha
• Min 9.5% potential ABV
• Grapes must be hand picked

Question 4

Grape Varieties

Answer 4

Glera - 85% minimum
– floral, lemon notes, high acidity
–
Local varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, and Pinot Noir(Nero)) - 15% maximum

Question 5

Winery

Answer 5

Vast majority tank method, but bottle fermentation also permitted

• Pressing yield: 70L/100kg grapes
• Must settled and ferm 18-20 C
• base wine clarified, blended, bottles for still - or moved to pressurized tanks for second fermentation
• chilled and filtered at desired residual sugar/atm

Alternatives:

• Fermenting directly from must (Asti Method)
• Tank method with longer lees contact
• Traditional method

Spumante - 3.5+ atm
Frizzante - 1-2.5 atm

Minimum maturation including second fermentation = 30 days

Question 6

Important labelling terms (DOCG)

Answer 6

• over 90% production is Spumante (fully sparkling) with small proportion of Frizzante also made.
• DOCG and DOC
• • Brut, Extra Dry, and Dry styles

Rive:

• terroir from specific names site (15 communes or 43 identified hamlets or vineyards)
• Rive + site name on label

Superiore de Cartizze - cru of 106h within 3 communes: Santo Stefano, San Pietro de Barbozza, and Saccol

Question 7

Styles

Answer 7

Brut, Extra Dry, Dry
Brut = 35% of production, and growing

Cartizze: Dry (32-50g/L residual sugar), but more Brut styles being produced

Question 8

Market Structure

Answer 8

Prosecco DOC

• 66% total production
• 354 producers

Conegliano-Valdobbidene DOCG

• 33% total production
• 168 producers

Asolo DOCG

• 1% total production
• 13 producers
• 221.3 million 9L cases produced/year
• Exported to Italy, UK, and USA
• 2009 DOCG introduced to maintain quality image with large increases in volume

Question 9

Top 5 Producers based on volume and value - DOC and DOCG

Answer 9

DOC

• La Marca
• Contarini
• Casa Vinicola Zonin
• Cantine Riunite
• Mionetto

DOCG

• Valdo
• Cantina Produttori Valdobbiadene
• Contarini
• Gioiosa
• Carpene Malvolti