With the temperatures dropping, and some of us already counting the days before Christmas, it is clear that the entertaining season is among us. While I still believe we should be drinking more bubbly wines year round – let’s face it, this is the time of year when most of us are going to crack open those special bottles with friends and family. So this year I’m going to suggest you add Prosecco Superiore to your entertaining arsenal. When reaching for your bottle look for Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Prosecco Superiore is at the top of the pyramid for Prosecco in terms of quality. The steep hillsides of the region make it impossible for machines to get into the vineyards and most of the harvest is done by hand.
Wine regions in Italy that have DOC or DOCG designations are both designations of quality. DOC regulates a specific region, the varieties of grapes allowed, and proportions of said varieties, style of winemaking, alcohol levels, vineyard management and technique, and winemaking management and technique. I mean the bottom line is that DOC rules are already very stringent – DOCG was created in 1980 to elevate the top tier of Italian wines and the rules are even more stringent on what can be done to create these wines. The strict rules generally mean lower allowable crop yields, a strict technical analysis, and passing a tasting panel. So when you reach for a bottle of DOCG wine you know you’re getting the best quality from Italy.
I love this time of year, frankly because I love taking some time out of my busy schedule and setting it aside to see friends and family in the holiday season. I love keeping sparkling wine on hand because it does help fancy up your dinner party. A bottle of Prosecco Superiore is affordable luxury with most bottles priced around twenty dollars at the LCBO. One of the reasons these bottles are essential for your holiday gatherings is its food friendly nature. The intense orchard fruit aromas and flavours mated with great acidity make it the perfect party guest.
I am a big fan of looking for a new wine region to visit. The photos of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG offer a breathtaking look of some of the most challenging vineyards on the planet to work thanks to the steep hillsides. After a ten year year long nomination process the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG were recognized as a UNESCO heritage site. In the words of UNESCO – they seek to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
The history in Conegliano Valdobbiadene is rich and long lived. Prosecco has been produced in the region since 1772, and Conegliano is home to Italy’s first wine school. People have been producing hand harvested wine in this region for over two hundred years. The breathtaking landscape has been carved by the local wine growing families and have given the landscape an appearance called hogback – Honestly if you search for photos of wild boars you can see the hillsides of Conegliano Valdobbiadene.
Even though the winemaking history of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG runs deep, the region is evolving how their wines are represented. Some of you may know that sparkling wines can be labelled to let you know how much sugar is in the wine using terms like Brut or Dry. Starting with the 2019 harvest Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG can be labelled as extra brut. This is the driest type of sparkling wine means there is 6 g/l or lower residual sugar in the wine. Understanding how to discern how sweet these wines are can be a bit of a challenge – especially considering the “Dry” is actually sweet. I have included a quick chart below to show how sweetness matches up with the title. Most bottles of Prosecco Superiore DOCG available at the LCBO currently are either Brut or Extra Dry – but keep an eye out for Extra Brut in the near future.
| Extra Brut | Brut | Extra Dry | Dry |
| Residual Sugar: From 0 to 6 g/l | Residual Sugar: From 6 to 12 g/l | Residual Sugar: From 12 to 17 g/l | Residual Sugar: From 17 to 32 g/l |
Starting in 2019 you will also see bottles labelled as “Sui Lieviti” (or on lees) these will be bottles that have been refermented in the bottle. With the sediment in the bottle you can expect something a little cloudy. You can also expect the presence of lees to change what this tastes like, you might find the fruit flavours muted, and aromas and flavours of bread.
Prosecco Superiore DOCG also banned the use of glysophate herbicide this year. This makes the region the largest in Europe to ban this herbicide. This ban will help protect insects necessary to help pollinate food crops.
So if you’re not already planning a trip to the heroic vineyards of Conegliano Valdobbiadene I need to ask you why not? Located only 50km away from Venice, if you’re thinking of visiting Italy – Why not stop by this UNESCO heritage site? You can get more information on what is going on by checking out their website by clicking here https://www.prosecco.it/en/. And if you’re not thinking of Italy – why not bring a bit of affordable luxury home for the holidays. You can share with your guests two hundred years of handmade quality from Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.
This is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG.
