Prosecco Secrets: Fruity? Dry? … or even Drier?!

Welcome to the third part of Prosecco Secrets.  For some people, the drier the sparkling wine the better, for others only Muscat or Asti Spumante will do. Part of the reason for Prosecco’ success is that is sits right in the middle of this debate. Prosecco is made in different styles and in this post we will discuss all these variants enabling you to order the one you really like next time you are in a restaurant or ... of course order from our shop.

The technical bit first

I will always remember the frustration as a kid – Yes, in Italy our wine education starts early… - when trying to understand why decisively fruity and perceptibly sweet sparkling wines was called “Dry” and very, very dry ones were called “Brut” instead of “Super Mega Extra Dry” or anything a 9 yo could come up with! So in order to prevent any similar upset, let us start with some useful data.

These are the official sugar contents of sparkling wines according to Commission Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 of 14 July 2009 ^[7]

Rating	Sugar content (grams per liter)
Brut Nature (no added sugar)	0–3
Extra Brut	0–6
Brut	0–12
Extra Dry, Extra Sec, Extra seco	12–17
Dry, Sec, Seco	17–32
Demi-Sec, Semi-seco	32–50
Doux, Sweet, Dulce	50+

In bold are the styles in which Prosecco is made and as one can see, for all wines, there is an - almost – semantically correct correlation between their level of sweetness and what’s on its label. So, why label a wine “Brut” as opposed to say “Super Mega Extra Dry”? Here’s why.

The term Brut was coined by the French, somehow maybe as a pejorative slang deriving from the French word Brute, after Perrier-Jouët, a famous champagne house, decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage prior to exporting it to London. After that first instance, more houses followed until the designation Brut Champagne, the modern Champagne, became officially accpted in 1876.^[9] Simple!

But enough about the mother of all sparkling wines and let’s carry on talking about Prosecco, the New Star of sparkling wines! As mentioned, Prosecco is produced in three styles, Brut, Extra Brut and Dry. First off is Prosecco Brut.

Prosecco Brut: 0 – 12 grams of sugar per liter

Prosecco Brut is a light-coloured sparkling wine that has a citrus-lemon-lime taste to it.  It pairs well with a wide variety of foods such as rice and pastas with light sauces, fish – and vegetable dishes.  It is also the best one for those of us that are on a diet as is the one with the lowest sugar levels (in a future Prosecco Secrets Post we will discuss how sugar becomes part of the wine; don’t miss it!).  In this style of Prosecco, if well made as our Prosecco Brut DOCG by Vettori, the balance between sweetness and acidity will be just perfect for those looking to clench their thirst while tasting a hint of sweetness to caress the taste buds. Ideal for those who normally drink Brut Champagne as it is the closest Prosecco it’ll ever get to it; remember: comparing Prosecco with Champagne it’s like comparing apples and pears. 

Prosecco Extra Dry: 12 – 17 grams of sugar per liter

The second type of Prosecco is the light straw coloured ‘Extra Dry’ variant. Despite its name, it is actually fruiter than the Brut.  The ‘Extra dry’ is sometimes called “off-dry” which indicates that the wine is dry, but with a distinct touch of sweetness.  In Italy the Extra Dry variant is considered to be the most conventional Prosecco of all three variants available. It is a delicious wine to drink as an aperitif, with summer dishes or with creamy cheeses.  At the Italian Wine Boutique we have a real one for you to try: the Vettori Brut DOCG. It is an elegant, clean-cut Prosecco with apple overtones, wisteria and acacia flower fragrances and a round, pleasantly acidulous and well-balanced taste, brought to your senses by an exceptional silk texture on the palate.

 

Prosecco Dry: 17 – 32 grams of sugar per liter

The Prosecco Dry is a real rarity on the wine market outside Italy. Although both Proseccos Brut and Extra Dry varieties were featured in Decanter’s magazine supplement “Italy 2011” the Dry variety did not even receive a mention! (Decanter, Italy 2011. Whites: Sparkling, Beyond Prosecco, January 2011, p.23 – p.26). If you research the Italian market or just use google.it, you will soon find out that of Prosecco Dry is easily available.

Dry Prosecco sometimes is called ‘Amabile’ which means ‘slightly sweet’ or ‘Dolce’ that can be translated as sweet but not as sweet as a Muscat or a dessert wine.  It tastes of apples, peach, lemon and it is the perfect partner for spicy and asian foods. Watch out because the Prosecco Dry variety will be soon available from our online shop. However if you like hot Indian food and you cannot wait, try any of the sweet wines in our section  and be ready to give your taste buds the experience of a life time!

Diadema: What is the perfect wine gift for Valentine’s Day?



Diadema wine

The expression “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” is made globally famous through well known female glamour icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Christina Aquilera, etc. The look and the value are probably the two things that make this gemstone appealing to women. In addition the diamond symbolises quality and endurance.

Clearly, a diamond would probably make the best gift for the one you love. However we have the opinion it should be kept for those rare special days in life such as your diamond wedding anniversary. Imagine you are 80, married 60 years and you get that diamond!

For Valentine’s days and all the other wedding anniversaries we have found the perfect match to a Diamond. It has quality, endurance, power, fabulous sparkling looks and it is overall equally special: Diadema™ Wine & Champagne.


What makes Diadema the perfect gift?

Diadema Wine & Champagne has understood the values of the Diamond perfectly and does not compromise on quality. Diadema™ was created to break with tradition while fully respecting that tradition. The idea was to create a bottle of wine, Champagne and olive oil to astound with their beauty and to astound even more with the quality of their contents. In each step all the attention is paid to the delivery of quality ensuring that the final product ‘contributes to pleasure and fine living’. 

Aimed at the affordable luxury good market, all the Diadema™ labels incorporate Swarovsky Crystals™ and all bottles come in a splendid gift box. Of course a special edition named Diamante featuring actual diamonds embedded in white gold or silver labels is also available; but perhaps not during a recession…

So, with its affordable luxury, we have highlighted 5 reasons why it could be that perfect gift for Valentine’s Day:

1. The region

Tuscany & Champagne: can it be anywhere more glamorous and romantic? Diadema™ is a brand created by Fattoria Dell’Olmo, a beautiful estate just a few miles south of Florence. The hillsides with Southern exposure and the clay soil make it an excellent surrounding to grow the grapes of the Diadema red and white wines. But luxury wouldn’t be complete without Champagne, so Diadema selected an exceptional boutique producer from Buxeil, in the heart of the Champagne region, and entrusted him with bottling a selection of his finest Champagne in Diadema bottles to be sold alongside their Tuscan still wine counterparts.

2. The rating
Diadema selected champagne is among the very best dry champagnes in the world, but the place of honour surely goes to the red wine.  Wine Spectator, the world famous wine-bible publication, awarded the 2007 Diadema Toscana Rosso IGT an astonishing 95 points and placed the wine in their Top 100 Wines list. To those less familiar with international wine ranking, suffice to say that only 37 wines out of '000,000 tasted since record began, have received 100 points; any 90 points + ranking make a wine worthy of international attention. But world-class wines don’t need to be expensive. Just try the fantastic D’Amare Toscana Rosso IGT still from Diadema™ , awarded 92/100 points and costing less than £25.

3. The grapes
Only the very best grapes will be used for the Diadema Wine and Champagne.The quality of grapes is carefully monitored before harvesting. Only those grapes that are unblemished, sounds, slightly ultra-ripe and contain the correct levels of tannins, anthocyanins and aroma precursors are picked for Diadema.
Next to lab analyses, direct tasting of the grapes in vineyard is playing an important part i.e. to identify if the polyphenoles are correct for the human palate. After harvesting, only the best grapes will be hand selected for the destemming process.  To find out more about the type of grapes, please read further...

4. The packaging and label
The packaging of Diadema clearly gives away how much attention has been paid to this product. Each element has been chosen to astound and to represent the value of the content. After all, with authentic Swarovski Crystals used for the labels, there’s nowhere to hide.

5. Diadema at The Italian Wine Boutique
Diadema™ in available in the UK exclusively at The Italian Wine Boutique where not only you can conveniently buy online, but also can take advantage of our Valentine’s Card & Gift Wrapping service.  We can also add flowers if you really want to! And if your Valentine doesn’t drink, don’t be in despair. There is always the fabulous Diadema Extra Virgin Tuscan Olive Oil that can be perfect for anyone.  We will ensure you will all orders will be delivered on time and with the most care. Contact us for any questions or requirements

Prosecco Secrets: DOC, DOCG and IGT

2. Region  and Denomination

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Yes, finally it is here: Prosecco Secrets Part 2. As promised in part 1 ‘Prosecco Bubbly and Sparkling’, we will discuss in further depth the Prosecco Region and Denomination. The story of the Prosecco production area is quite an interesting one as there have seen some changes in the recent years. Don’t be afraid, we have kept it short and simple again in the hope that it is enjoyable to everyone. 

Prosecco special since 2009

Anyone that is a little bit familiar with drinking wine has probably moved an eyebrow after reading the subtitle. Did you know that before 2009 Prosecco could be made anywhere in Europe?  It is not that remarkable when you know that the grape used in ‘Prosecco’ was called just like that: ‘Prosecco’.

It is only since the harvest of 2009 that by European law only wine made in a precisely defined area can be called Prosecco. All other wines of the same grape, now called ‘Glera’, outside this region cannot be called Prosecco; well at least in the EU.  It also meant that we had to say “Addio” to the Prosecco Raboso (the pink one) which contains the Raboso grape instead of the ‘Glera’.

Finally, this new EU legislation also means that Prosecco can now only be sold in glass bottles.  We know what you are thinking “well… in what else?” Think again… Rich® Prosecco, a brand that was launched by celebrity Paris Hilton – and “sadly” not available in the UK -  had to change its packaging from cans to bottles as per regulation.

But now let us give you some more details about the region and the denomination. You will see that this has changed as well in 2009. 

Prosecco Denomination and Region

Prosecco from Europe is geographically protected (denomination) and it can only be produced in the Italian area of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene,  Montello e Colli Asolani, Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, and Vicenza.  Yes, you read it well: only in the EU. 

But, as Prosecco originally took its name from the grape of which it is made - instead of the location the wine comes from such as for Barolo - you may still come across wines called Prosecco outside the EU such as Australian ones. Be aware of imitations! The only Prosecco that would behave in your mouth and on your nose as you would like it are the following two varieties.

Prosecco DOCG, Vettori

Prosecco DOCG 

DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (literally translated Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed… by Italy’s Minister of Agriculture). It is the best guarantee of quality for an Italian wine. Each DOCG wine is produced under tight regulations. Just as tight as the maximum amount of grapes that can be cultivated per hectar, to minimum number of years to be spent ageing in a barrel, to where the wine may be bottled and so on. Every wine that is labelled with DOCG is also analysed and blind-tasted by Italian Ministry of Agriculture Officials to guarantee the quality and authenticity. And if it passes all these rigid tests, it finally receives (we might say “deserve”) a uniquely numbered seal by the Mint ensuring that it arrives in your glass with the approved quality. So, if the seal is broken, don’t buy it!

The same applies of course to Prosecco DOCG. DOCG means the wine is guaranteed from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and  Montello e Colli Asolani area . It also secures that the wine is made from at a minimum of 85% Glera grapes. Producers may only produce 70 liter Prosecco of 100kg grapes to guarantee the concentration; but we will go into the details of the production method in one of our next posts.

Prosecco DOC

DOC means Denominazione di Origine Controllata will give you the hint that the wines are produced in the areas Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, and Vicenza. The wine bottling has to happen in these nine areas and can only happen outside this area if the bottler is able to proof he bottled Prosecco since 2004 or before.

Before 2009 most of the now called Prosecco DOC was labelled Prosecco IGT. IGT stand for Indicazione Geografica Tipica and can be freely translated to: Indication of geographic area the product comes from. The DOC roughly applies to the Prosecco IGT wines produced before 2009.  The maximum grape yield is 1.8kg per/m² to guarantee the grape quality. The DOC is also subject to analysis before it can go in the bottle. 

Tip: Want to know even more? Look at our website for further information about classification. 

Which Prosecco is in your glass?

Getting your head around it? Don’t worry. To make sure you know what you are drinking next time you order a Prosecco, we give you a little recap; it is all divided between pre & post 2009 change in regulations.

NV Prosecco Raboso IGT, Riondo

Prosecco pre-2009 

• Prosecco IGT (Vintage & NV): Prosecco IGT was the name of all Prosecco wines produced outside the DOC area before 2009. 
• Prosecco Raboso IGT: This pink Prosecco was made mainly from the Raboso grape. Although no longer legal to label a sparkling wine made with Raboso grape “Prosecco” you might still come across examples of it as it can be happily stored in bottles for years.
• Prosecco DOC: Only those produced in Conegliano & Valdobbiadene could be labelled DOC

Prosecco post-2009

• Prosecco DOC: If the label says 2010 or older, that Prosecco will have been produced in one of these areas: Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, or Vicenza (roughly the old IGT area).
• Prosecco DOCG: Congratulations! This is a 2010 or vintages only. You have found a new released Prosecco made in the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene or Montello e Colli Asolani area (roughly the old DOC area). This is truly the Rolls Royce of Prosecco and do not be afraid to pay that little extra for it, as it is worth every penny. Have a look at Vettori Winery to get a feel of where the Prosecco DOCG in our shop comes from.

Enjoy! And watch out for our next Prosecco Secrets: It is dry and sweet!

Pssst: Extra tip to impress your friends. Have a look at how to open a bottle of sparkling wine