Finding a prosecco that's as fashionable as you deserve

Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine that is shifting bubblies from formal, celebratory settings, to more easygoing celebrations and delivering fresh, fizzy fun for everyone.

The delightful Proseccos we love originally came from the village of Prosecco, outside of Trieste, Italy. Prosecco is derived from the neighboring Slovenian word prozek which translated means “path through the woods.” Before the vineyards, the area was heavily wooded.

In Italy, over 40 Denominazione di Origine Controllatas (DOCs) and Denominazione di Origine Controllata Garantitas (DOCGs) allow sparkling wines to be made from a bewildering array of grape varieties that vary in alcoholic strength, color and residual sugar depending on the regions regulations.

Just like France’s Champagne region, Italy has a designated Prosecco region. And just like Champagne, Prosecco is only from the Prosecco region tucked into the foothills of northeast Italy.

Outside of the Prosecco region, sparkling wines produced use the terms Metado Classico (traditional méthode with the second fermentation in bottle), spumante (the most sparkling) or frizzante (gently bubbly) to designate there are bubbles inside.

And just like the Champagne region, the Prosecco region is quite cool but here the cooler climate is due to the proximity of the alpine forest. Traditionally, the grapes were harvested the end of October and fermentation went into hibernation during the cold winters. When the weather warmed up, there was just enough residual sugar left to start fermentation again producing a wine with bubbles!

While Champagne is made from the well-known Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, Prosecco is made from a grape called Glera. Believed to date back to Roman times, the Glera grape is also recognized to be of Slovenian origin.

Prosecco can also be made with small amounts of the Perera, Bianchetta, and Verdiso grapes and increasingly small amounts of the French varietals Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. Prosecco can be designated Metado Classico, spumante or frizzante. But it also comes in a still version.

Unlike Champagne and other Italian Metado Classicos, most Prosecco is made with the Charmat production method, which means the second fermentation is in great big, pressurized tanks instead of in many, many bottles. This eliminates years and about three steps in traditional sparkling wine production.

The tank method is timesaving because the secondary fermentation is in a sealed pressurized tank. Eliminated are the time consuming steps of riddling, ageing on lees, and disgorgement (removing the sediment). Prosecco - or any bubbly produced this way like Cook’s - is less expensive to make and much easier on the wallet.

Fermenting in stainless steel tanks accentuates the aromatics of the wine and fruit of the grape without the added bouquet and flavors from ageing in oak and on the lees. The longer the wine goes through second fermentation, the smaller and more persistent the bubbles are.

That said, there are terms that apply to wines that meet exacting requirements such as a longer aging period before release. Prosecco Superiore is in the DOCG category that is limited to a small hilly zone in the Prosecco region.

Prosecco Superiore wines have more complexity because they’re made from grapes harvested from prestigious places such as the tiny, hilly Cartizze (car-teet-say) and the Conegliano Valdobbiadene (con-ay-lee-ano val-doh-bee-ah-dee-nee) communes. The vines grow on steep, limestone-rich hillsides where everything from pruning to picking is done by hand.

The production area covers 15 communes and is the classic corner of Prosecco. In 2009, with the reorganization of the denominations for Prosecco, it was reclassified as (DOCG), the highest level of quality for Italian wines.

How Prosecco became fashionable

It started with the Bellini. The original one was made with Prosecco not Champagne. It was created after WWII at the famed Harry’s Bar in Venice. The starring role in this drink was the fresh white peaches that were pushed through a sieve and then topped with crisp, bubbly Prosecco.

The meteoric rise around the world happened because Prosecco filled the gap between expensive bottles of Champagne or inexpensive alternatives such as Spanish Cava and Asti Spumante.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Prosecco became enormously popular because a good bottle of Prosecco was more affordable than a bottle of Champagne. Prosecco producers spotted this and upped production.

The Prosecco popularity explosion really bubbled up later though with about 150 million bottles were produced in 2008. Ten years later, production had reached 600 million bottles. In 2022, over 638 million bottles were sold and producers realized a gain of over $3 billion.

There is so much to celebrate – everyday. Cin cin!

Mary Earl has been educating Kitsap wine lovers for a couple of decades, is a longtime member of the West Sound Brew Club and can pair a beer or wine dinner in a flash. She volunteers for the Clear Creek Trail and is a longtime supporter of Silverdale.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Finding a prosecco that's fashionable