Boyd on wine: Italy’s prosecco takes on Champagne

Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, is one of the world’s most famous watering holes. When founder Giuseppe Cipriani was in attendance, the rich and famous, like Ernest Hemingway, flocked to Harry’s for the latest gossip and a cocktail.

In recent years, Harry’s has become a tourist must-visit, partly to hang out where Hemingway and Sinclair Lewis once held forth, but also to sip Harry’s signature cocktail, the Bellini. Named for the 15thy century Venetian artist, Giovanni Bellini, the Bellini cocktail is a simple blend of white peach nectar and prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine that has set some impressive sales figures, especially among millennials, whose call for prosecco is putting pressure on Champagne.

Over the years, Champagne sales have been up and down in the market. Not so with prosecco, the sparkler that seems to be going from strength to strength. According to Meininger’s Wine Business International, worldwide sales of prosecco amounted to an impressive 302 million bottles in 2016, compared with half that in 2011. And sales continue to soar, especially among younger drinkers who are ignoring traditional drinks, like Champagne, in favor of something new, like prosecco.

So, what is prosecco and how does it differ from other sparkling wines? Prosecco is an Italian dry or sweet sparkling wine from the region of Veneto, in Italy’s northeast corner. Nearly all prosecco today is made from glera, a local grape, although the law allows up to 15 percent other grapes including chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot grigio.

Prosecco gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in a tank, rather than in the bottle like Champagne. Prosecco is finished either as fully sparkling (“spumante”) or as semi-sparkling (“frizzante.”) And there is a still version poetically called “tranquillo.” All three of these terms may or may not be on the front label.

For some insight about why prosecco is growing in popularity among consumers, we talked with Bill Traverso, former co-owner of Traverso’s, who now teaches about Italian wine at Santa Rosa Junior College. In his long experience as a wine retailer and educator, Traverso has found that consumers are unsure about the styles of prosecco and where the wine fits into the sparkling wine category.

“Most consumers believe that prosecco is less acidic than California sparkling wine and French Champagne,” Traverso said. “But, I’m not sure they understand that prosecco can be either dry or sweet. That little bit sweetness adds to the popularity of the wine.”

Traverso thinks that in this age of experimentation with food and wine, Prosecco offers a lot of versatility.

“Prosecco’s dry and sweet styles make it a versatile wine that appeals to a wide range of wine drinkers,” he said. “Prosecco is very good served as an aperitif with hors d’oeuvres, light meals and, like other sparkling wines, as a celebratory beverage.”

Stylistically, fruit-forward prosecco differs from other Italian spumante like those from Franciacorta, a top-end bubbly made in the classic Champagne style from pinot noir and chardonnay. Because of the high-profile fruitiness of prosecco, even the dry styles taste sweeter than franciacorta or Champagne. Prosecco is also stylistically different from the once-popular lambrusco, a fruity fizzy red wine from Italy’s northern Emilia region.

Although prosecco has been around for a long time in Italy, Traverso estimates that the Italian sparkling wine first made its appearance in Santa Rosa around 2005. “We were still at the downtown store then, and we sold three different brands of prosecco: Ruggeri, Sorelle Branca and Zonin,” he said. “Now there are many more choices.”

Traverso has found that when it comes to buying sparkling wines, there is a lot of consumer loyalty. “California sparkling wine and French Champagne are categories of their own and so is prosecco,” he said. “Consumers usually buy the specific type of bubbly they are interested in, and it’s not often that they will swap types, especially to go from California and French sparkling to prosecco.”

He added that the market for prosecco is strong and will continue to grow.

When buying prosecco, a basic knowledge of the association between Italy’s appellation laws, or DOC, will prove helpful. The bulk of the sales is DOC prosecco, a protected denomination that encompasses about 15,000 acres. Within this large area is a smaller hilly vineyard zone that lies between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. The wines from these two villages have been elevated to DOCG status, meaning that under Italian law they are “guaranteed” to be of the highest quality.

Additionally, a system of communes, known locally as “rives” has been introduced in Congeliano and Valdobbiadene DOCG, such as Ca’Vittoria Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG and Zucchetto Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG.

Expect to pay between $10 and $18 for most prosecco, although there are a few around over $20 and even higher for the DOCG Coegliano and Valdobbiadene Prosecco. Locally, BevMo has the largest selection of prosecco, but Bottle Barn offers the best prices. Other popular brands of prosecco to look for include Zonin, Ruffino, Mionetti, La Marca, Sorelle Bronca, Stella Rosa, Zardetto, Cinzano and Ruggeri.

A final note on prosecco and bellinis: On its own, slightly chilled prosecco is a pleasurable way to pass a warm summer afternoon or as a refreshing aperitif.

Prosecco in a Bellini adds variety, or you can change things up by replacing peach nectar with mandarin juice for a Puccini cocktail, strawberry puree and prosecco make a Rossini cocktail, and to honor the noted Italian painter Tintorello, blend prosecco with pomegranate juice.

Gerald D. Boyd is a Santa Rosa-based wine and spirits writer. Email him at boydvin@sbcglobal.net.