Bubbles

Have you noticed the growing presence of Prosecco on shelves at your local wine store ? If you

answered 'yes,' you are not alone, for Prosecco is presently enjoying world wide market growth.

You might ask, 'why', for we have not witnessed heightened marketing through television and print mediums.

I think the reason for this growth may lie with some other members of the sparkling wine family; notably Champagne and Franciacorta; the only two bottle fermented wines named for their place of origin.

Franciacorta happens to be my preference in "bubbles." I find it "elegance personified." You don't

know it ? Ninety firms in Franciacorta, located in the eastern Lombardy province of Brescia, produced 18 million bottles last vintage. With this smallish production little is done in international marketing, so if you have not previously heard of it I would not be surprised.

Champagne, with 300 million bottles produced annually has become a problem child in recent years. With many smaller Houses having been absorbed by the giants of Champagne the NV style is spending minimum time on lees, 14 months by law, in order to meet market demand. As a result

what arrives on retail shelves has little yeast autolysis/champagne character. Some border on being innocuous. Further, pricing on a monthly basis is inconsistent. Thus, the consumer can be excused for being somewhat confused.

These are just two reasons why Prosecco producers are "in the drivers seat." Prosecco is a sparkling wine named for its place of origin; the province of Prosecco on the Italian border to Slovenia. Unlike the bottle fermented Franciacorta and Champagne, Prosecco undergoes its secondary fermentation in tank, and is then bottled under pressure to retain its effervescence. This is known as the Charmat Process. Just one Prosecco producer, Col Fondo, ferments in bottle. Further, the lees (dead yeast cells) are retained rather than disgorged.

To my palate the finest Prosecco is that from the delimited area of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene.

The total 2021 production of Prosecco was 627 million bottles, which included 71 milluion of rosato. A further delimited zone is that of Asolo Prosecco, which produces 92 million bottles annually. Asolo Prosecco is delimited because it was the first Prosecco, created by Benedictine monks in the 15th century. Like Conegliano e Valdobbiadene, Asolo achieved DOCG status in 2009. Thus, any "prosecco" produced outside of the geographical province of Prosecco must be

called Glera, which is the name of the original grape brought from Slovenia.

OK; what does Prosecco taste like ? Well, it is dry, usually with a maximum alcohol of 12*, and an effervescence (spuma in Italian) of about 5 atmosphere, compared to 6* for Franciacorta and Champagne. It is, therefore, a perfect aperitif (aperitivo in Italian). It will prepare your taste buds

for the foods to follow.

This is all I have to say about Prosecco at this time. Your comments and questions are welcome.

Until the next blog;; salute,' sante,' zivio, je zia sano, oogy wawa, cheers !