Everything you ever wanted to know about Prosecco

Denominazione di Origine Controllata — a controlled designation of origin.

Prosecco DOC thrives in a territory with truly unique environmental conditions, in the north-east of Italy. The production area spans nine provinces: four in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine) and five in the Veneto (Belluno, Padua, Treviso, Venice and Vicenza) — some of the most beautiful countryside in the country.

When the entire journey — from grape harvest through winemaking to bottling — takes place within the provinces of Treviso or Trieste, a wine may carry the special designations Prosecco DOC Treviso or Prosecco DOC Trieste: two provinces that have shaped the history of Prosecco.

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita — controlled and guaranteed. The very top of the pyramid.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore is a DOCG sparkling wine made exclusively in those hills from the Glera grape. Yields are capped, and every estate blends its own cuvée from the many microzones of the area. It is poured in Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry and Dry versions, which differ by residual sugar.

A few terms worth knowing: Rive names wines from a single steep hillside, highlighting each slope’s character; Cartizze, just 107 hectares, is the crown jewel of the denomination; and Sui Lieviti is the traditional refermented-in-the-bottle style, also called col fondo. The Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG, on the Montello and Colli Asolani hills at the foot of the Dolomites, completes the guaranteed tier.

Prosecco is made mainly from Glera, a native north-eastern Italian variety already known to the ancient Romans. It ripens into large, long bunches of golden-yellow berries, and its careful cultivation — topping, thinning and tying the shoots — creates the ideal microclimate for aromatic development.

Alongside Glera, up to 15% of other varieties may be used: Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero.

A sparkling wine for every palate. The main styles are:

• Prosecco DOC Spumante
• Prosecco DOC Rosé Spumante
• Prosecco DOC Frizzante
• Prosecco DOC Tranquillo
• Prosecco DOCG
• Prosecco DOCG Rive
• Prosecco DOCG Cartizze
• Prosecco DOCG Sui Lieviti
• Prosecco DOCG Asolo

For more, visit the official Prosecco consortium links at the foot of this page.

It all comes down to sugar. These names tell you how sweet the wine is — measured as residual sugar per litre:

Dē gustibus nōn est disputandum.

“About taste there can be no argument.” Nobody can say which is better — it is entirely a matter of taste. Purists lean toward Extra Brut and Brut, while Extra Dry remains the most loved around the world.

The secret of a great Prosecco lies in its DNA: a unique microclimate.

Prosecco DOCG — exclusively in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene area, and in the Asolo Prosecco zone of the Veneto, north of Venice.

Prosecco DOC stretches across two regions:

• Friuli-Venezia Giulia — Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine
• Veneto — Belluno, Padua, Treviso, Venice and Vicenza

It’s a delicate process — the grapes must stay intact and any spontaneous fermentation must be avoided. Once the best fruit is selected, the base white wine is made: sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This first fermentation runs about 15–20 days at no more than 18°C, to protect the fine bouquet of the grapes.

Prosecco Tranquillo (still) is bottled first, while the Frizzante and Spumante styles undergo a natural second fermentation — the Martinotti (Charmat) method — in large pressure-tight tanks called autoclaves. This is where the wine earns its famous pearls.

Sparkling winemaking lasts at least 30 days. Near the end, fermentation is halted by lowering the temperature, keeping a touch of residual sugar to guarantee balance and harmony.

A wine is Millesimato when it is made from grapes of a single vintage.

The word comes from the French millésime, meaning “vintage” — so in winemaking it refers to the specific harvest year of the grapes the wine is made from.

Like Parmigiano or olive oil, Prosecco is one of the most counterfeited Italian products — so it pays to know the tell.

You can spot a genuine bottle easily, because every single bottle is numbered. Just above the cap you’ll find the state seal carrying the unique code that identifies your bottle. No number, no guarantee.