Prosecco Wine Tour, Day 3

Prosecco Wine Tour, Italy

April 15th 2011

Day 3

 

WOW!  What a gorgeous trip we just had into the Dolomite hills of valdobbiadene and its surrounding towns.  We are now officially Prosecco savvy!  Thanks to incredible vineyard guides of two top Prosecco producers who patiently answered our endless questions, we learned the ins-and-outs of this trendy wine style.  This wine tour exceeded our high expectations.

We also got to enjoy another one of the beauties of food, wine, and travel which was to make new friends along the way.  We shared our minivan with another young couple from London, Alex and Esme, and couldn’t have been luckier to be paired with another young couple passionate about good food and wine.

 

Our first stop was Villa Sandi, a charming vineyard producing DOC, DOCG, and Cartizze Prosecco of highest quality. Pictured here is their charming Bed & Breakfast  set at the base of the vineyard.

Pictured above are Prosecco grapes just budding.  It was inspirational to see the 40 year old vines coming to life with baby grapes and leaves this early spring.  The Chef of Villa Sandi uses these tender grape leaves in his special risotto.  Sounds incredible.

Here we got our initiation to Prosecco making.  We learned that Prosecco is made using the rather new Charmat method, rather than the traditional Champagne method in order to create a Spumante, or Sparkling wine.  We also learned of the absolute unique qualities of the Glera grape (the sole grape in Prosecco) which make it an ideal Sparkling wine grape.  Specifically, the high acidity in the grape is the key quality.  Did you know that Prosecco as we know it today, has only been produced with the Charmat method for about 25 years?  We had no idea!  Prosecco has been produced for hundreds of years in this region as a still wine, not even remotely similar to the Sparkling Prosecco we enjoy today.  Only recently has Prosecco become a Sparkling wine.  The Glera grape without the unique Charmat method production becomes a full bodied golden yellow wine.  But through the Charmat process, Sparkling Prosecco is almost clear in color, with high acidity and is some of the freshest tasting wine we have ever experienced. 

 

• Prosecco cannot be Prosecco unless it is from the Prosecco region of Italy, as it is now protected as a DOC — Denominazione di Origine Controllata.  
• Within the DOC region, there is a smaller DOCG, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita which has even more rigid requirements for quality. 
• Within this DOC there is a small parcel of land on one particular hill, known as Cartizze.  This land is coveted because of it’s microclimate and sandy soil which allows the roots and water to run deep and creates a smaller, more concentrated, sweeter grape that still retains the perfect acidity level for Prosecco.  This land is 2 Million Dollars per hectare and is split up among roughly 46 families.  We were lucky enough to visit two families that have land in Cartizze and we got to try two different beautiful Cartizze Proseccos.
• The two main types of Prosecco produced with the Glera grape are Spumante, which is made using Charmat method where yeast and sugar are added in pressurized huge steel tanks during a second fermentation to create the bubble, and Frizzante where no extra yeast or sugar are added and a more mellow bubble is created with the natural yeast and sugars from the grapes and through only one fermentation which happens inside the bottle
• Traditional Method Champagnes takes two years to complete, where the Charmat method only takes 3 months!  This is why Prosecco is so much more affordable than Champagne.
• After the grapes are picked, they are gently cleaned and completely separated from their skins.  At Villa Sandi, the grapes only stay in contact with their skins for a few minutes, and at Vineyard Bisol (see below) they allow the juice to macerate with the skins for only 24 hours!  This quick separation from the skins is the first step to acidic, fresh tasting Prosecco.

 

• The next step is the filtration process where they use special minerals and a high-tech machine to extract 70% of the grape pith and keep only the cleanest clearest juice from the grape.  They filter this juice three times!  This explains the clear color and flavor of Prosecco.

 

 

At Villa Sandi we ended the tour with five different Proseccos and then headed outside to see the vines up close.

 

 

Our lunch stop was in the town of Asolo.  We sat down with our London friends at Baccaro where we feasted on perfectly prepared Gnocci (not an easy preparation to get perfect!)  The Gnocci was tossed in olive oil and topped with smoked riccotta.  Then we had Rabbit in a bold pesto sauce, again prepared wonderfully, with plenty of garlic and creamy polenta.   Here we tried several more local wines for about $2/glass.  Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly try any more wine, we couldn’t pass up this value for local treasures.

 

Our second Vineyard stop was Bisol.  This Vineyard was set high in the hills and is one of the largest high quality Prosecco producers.  Our tour of Bisol included education about even more of the high tech machinery used to make and bottle Prosecco, from the grape pressing all the way to the labeling and corking of the bottles.  Bisol even has a machine that puts the bottles into cases and the cases on palettes.  It is all automated and very high tech.

See the full gallery on Posterous

It was not always this high tech, however.  Our tour ended in their original cellar, a charming little bunker type space made of stone and dirt which survived the bombings of the Second World War.  Here in this cellar we saw the original simple machines used to make each bottle of wine by hand.  Then for the best part:  the tasting!  We culminated the tour by sampling nine different variations of Bisol Prosecco.

1.      Prosecco Frizante  - slightly less bubbly version using only one fermentation

2.      Prosecco Spumante – Dry – (the sweetest version of Spumante) 26% residual sugar

3.      Prosecco Spumante – Extra Dry – 16% residual sugar

4.      Prosecco Spumante – Brut – 10% residual sugar – the driest designation for Spumante

5.      Prosecco Credo – This bottle was made from grapes grown only the Clay soil. This gave the wine a unique flavor.

6.      Prosecco made of grapes from all the most desireable microclimates (different soil types) of the vineyard, specifically selected for their quality.

7.      Prosecco Method Champagne – This Prosecco was made using tradional method for creating Spumante where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, a process that takes upwards of two years before it is ready to drink.

 

8.      Prosecco Cartizze – Slightly sweeter and perfectly balanced Prosecco of the highest quality.  Perfection! 

9.      Sweet Prosecco made from dried Glera grapes

For more information, here are a couple links:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glera_(grape)