Prosecco Part II - Wine Online Bermuda

Prosecco Part II
Robinson, Michael. "Grape Expectations: Prosecco Part II" The Royal Gazette [BDA] 03.06.2016 Print
$120,000,000. In 2013 Prosecco bottles, for the
first time, actually out-sold Champagne
throughout the world. I am not for a moment
suggesting that Champagne is still not the
bench-mark for the greatest of all sparkling
wines and if the need is only for the finest fizz
then you would be wise to buy the French.
Articles in the British press are hinting that
supplies of the Italian bubbly in England may run
out this summer and indeed during my recent
stay in Italy I heard similar rumours about the
wine named after the town of Prosecco.
Back in October of 2015 I wrote that Prosecco
was one of the fastest growing wine categories,
as this Italian bubbly was gaining many new
fans. In November a Bloomberg report
described perfect weather and the biggest
harvest ever that represented an increase of
56% over the previous year. In fact in the
U.S.A., over the past six years, sales have
grown annually from about $15,000,000 to over
Last year I also wrote that “we sell twice as
much Prosecco in a week than we did in a whole
year ten years ago” and amazingly it just keeps
growing in our 2016 season. We all know the
old story about supply and demand but so far I
have heard no suggestions for price increases
and actually we have had some reductions
dueto the weaker Euro and we have passed
these on to our customers.
Even though the Glera grape, used for making
Prosecco, has been around since Roman times
it was not until 1969 that this style of wine was
awarded DOC status. This “Denominazione di
Origine Controllata” protects and limits the area
of production and laws are in place for its quality
assurance. They were further strengthened in
2009 with a tightening of controls on zoning,
bottling and production supervision.
Charmat or bulk method and this means that
rather than going through a second fermentation
in the individual bottle, like Champagne, it is
made in a large stainless steel tank and then
bottled under pressure.
The very labourintensive “Methode Champenoise” is just one of
the reasons why Champagne is a more
expensive proposition all around. This Pasqua
Prosecco is $14.90.
It makes me chuckle when I hear someone ask
“would you like a glass of Prosecco or possibly a
glass of wine?” You see, in my way of thinking,
a sparkling wine is even “more wine” than a still
wine, as not only is the alcohol part of
fermentation saved, but also the carbon dioxide
gas that is just allowed to escape during the
making of still wines.
The Hills of Veneto ~ Prosecco Country
In April of 2010 two small areas nestled in the
hills of eastern Veneto, called Valdobbaidene
and Conegliano were designated DOCG status
and let me explain. In 1980 a new level for
Italian wine went into effect and it was called
“Denominazione
di
Origine
Controllata
Garantita” and the idea was to guarantee a
certain level of quality and single out the very
best growing appellations. All DOCG wines
must be submitted to a tasting panel before they
can be released for sale. Special neck bands
are given to put on the approved bottles. To say
the least, it has caused a few arguments and
now some of the finest producers just ignore it
and put DOC on their bottle. It might be
appropriate to say “de gustibus non est
disputandum”, or for the Latin challenged “there
is no arguing about taste”.
Pasqua Prosecco DOC
Our Pasqua Prosecco is a DOC classified
wine that is bright straw yellow in colour with
faint greenish tinges. The nose is gently floral
with a mixture of peach, pear and tropical fruit
notes. Like all Prosecco it is made by the
Anyway back to our Santa Margherita
Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG with its
peach, pear and apple aromas. Wine & Spirits
magazine actually gave this a 91/100 and said
“The texture of this wine deftly balances the
richness of ripe stone fruit with the grip of fruit
skins like apple and apricot. A hint of white
pepper adds subtle complexity, while the finish
feels fresh and elegant”. $19.90.
Canella Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene
Santa Margherita Prosecco Valdobbiadene
For many years we have imported Prosecco
from the Canella family and at this time we have
their
Canella
Prosecco
ConeglianoValdobbiadene DOCG 2014 and plenty of it. I
emphasize the stock level because I am going to
let you in on a little secret. We have always
stocked their Prosecco DOC but when I
checked our stocks before writing about it, I
made the discovery that they have shipped us
the vintage DOCG and I am somewhat at a loss
as to why, unless it was just a mistake. Anyway
we are not changing the price and to be quite
honest, while tasting their wines with the Canella
family in Italy in April I did have the thought that
we should offer a vintage version. Fate has
taken care of this for me so this silky-smooth
textured vintage wine is yours for a bargain price
of $17.60
Michael Robinson is Director of Wine at Burrows, Lightbourn Ltd. He can be contacted at [email protected] or on
295-0176. Burrows, Lightbourn have stores in Hamilton (Front Street East, 295-1554), Paget (Harbour Road, 2360355) and St George’s (York Street, 297-0409). A selection of their wines, beers and spirits are available on line at
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