Prosecco Flashcards
1) Permitted grape variety and winemaking method
2) Changes in classification
3) Sweetness levels
1) Made from glera, tank fermented
2) Former IGT combined to form the vast Prosecco DOC (23000ha)
3) 2 styles: Spumante (fully spk), frizzante (lower pressure)
4) Sweetness levels: Brut to Demisec, with Extra dry being the most common.
5) Conegliano & Valdobbiadene: promoted from DOC to DOCG
1) What’s the climate in Prosecco DOC area?
2) Natural influences in the mesoclimate?
3) Natural influences in the mesoclimate of Prosecco DOCG?
1) Moderate to warm continental, moderate rain
2) Plains affected by moist & mist from rivers
3) Hilly Prosecco DOCG areas: cooling influences from altitude, wider diurnal range.
General soil overview and its influence on the wine styles.
1) Vary largely
2) More fertile on the plains: higher yields, more neutral wines
3) Poorer up on the slopes: lower yields, more concentrated wines
1) Viticultural attributes
2) Hazards
3) Planting density
1) Semi-aromatic
2) Vigorous, capable of high yields
3) Susceptible to millerandage, downy and powdery mildews, summer drought and grapevine yellows
4) Low to med planting density (3000 vines / ha) as it’s high yielding
1) describe Sylvoz
2) Advantages
3) Disadvantages
1) high cordon system with shoots hanging down
2) suitable for high vigour sites / cultivars, where the aim is high yields
3) inexpensive to create, minimises winter pruning and it’s suitable for machine harvesting
4) the height of the cordon provides protection from frost
5) Can encourage overcroping and the canopy can cause excessive shading
What’s the double-arched cane pruning system?
Advantages?
Disadvantages?
1) Form of cane pruning where canes are bent into arches
2) Advantages: improves even ripeness, air circulation in the canopy, reducing the incidence of fungal disease
3) disadvantages: individual branches have to be tied in, increasing costs
4) Normally used on the hillsides of Prosecco DOCG
1) Overview on vineyard work in Prosecco DOC
2) Overview on vineyard work in Prosecco DOCG
3) Where are the best sites and why?
1) Prosecco DOC: machine harvest is possible due to the flat lands; vineyards are large and there considerable economies of scale.
2) Prosecco DOCG: same work has to be done by hand due to topography, increasing costs
3) Best wines: south facing hill-side sites: better exposure to sunlight; less fertile soils with better drainage; wider diurnal range - makes for a longer growing season, slower ripening, retaining more acid and concentrating flavours.
Brief overview on winemaking in Prosecco
1) 1st fermentation 15-20 days, lower controlled temp (18oC)
2) 2nd fermentation: in tank, lasts 1 month 12-15oC
3) Short time on lees (few weeks)
4) Wine is chilled, filtered and bottled
5) No ageing requirements (focus on primary fruit aromas)
6) Up till 2014: no dosage, winemaker calculated necessary sugar for the required level of CO2 and sweetness level of the final wine
7) After 2014, dosage can be done after the wine is racked off the lees of the 2nd fermentation
What’s Prosecco Col Fondo?
1) Traditional style
2) Lightly cloudy wine, frizzante and dry
3) 2nd fermentation happens in bottle; wine is left undisgorged.
4) Applies to DOC or DOCG
5) Becoming more popular with Pet Nat trend
What are the yields for DOC, DOCG, Rive & Superiore di Cartizze categories?
1) DOC: 125hL/ha
2) DOCG: 94hL/ha
3) Rive: 90hL/ha
4) Superiore di Cartizze: 85hL/ha
What’s the permitted grape variety?
1) Min 85% glera
2) Usually is 100%
1) Prosecco market share in Italy
2) Trend between 2011 & 2016
3) Structure of the industry (growers, producers of base wine, producers of spk wine)
4) Coops & private companies
5) Export x domestic market; main export markets
6) New trends
7) Current challenges for the industry
1) Accounts for 1/2 of sparkling wine production in Italy
2) Production doubled between 2011 and 2016
3) Average farm size: 2.5 ha
4) 10000 growers, 1200 producers of base wine, 350 spk wine producers
5) Coops responsible for 1/2 fruit grown
6) Private companies bottle 3/4 of the production
7) 3/4 Spumante, 1/4 Frizzante
8) 60% production directed to export markets: UK, Germany and USA
9) Brutnature Prosecco: 0-3G/L
10) Prosecco Rose: currently not permitted - Pinot Noir will add the colour
11) Current challenges: protect the name (some Australian producers still use the name); other products using the name to take advantage of the trend (recent apprehension of “prosecco flavoured” Pringles as reported by DB
