BY NOW, everybody who knows and drinks wines, would have heard of Proseccos. Prosecco is the Italian sparkling wine produced from Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions in northwest Italy, made primarily from glera grapes (minimum of 85%), and named after the village of Prosecco. Other varietals that are allowed to be blended with glera for Prosecco are: chardonnay, pinot bianco, pinot grigio, pinot noir, perera, bianchetta trevigiana, and verdiso. Glera is a very high yielding varietal that has good acidity, but rather dull flavor with faint tropical fruits.
Prosecco is normally produced using the Charmat method, where the second fermentation occurs in a stainless-steel tank and the sparkling wine is bottled under pressure — a much faster process versus Champagne. Champagne, on the other hand, uses the Classic method or Methode Champenoise in which the secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle and takes at least 15 months before commercial release. Prosecco can be produced in as little as 30 days. For the past few years, Prosecco has already surpassed Champagne as the most saleable sparkling wine in the world. Production and export volume of Prosecco has risen to more than double that of Champagnes, with export accounting for over 70% of total Prosecco production. Export of Prosecco has in fact grown five-fold in the last 10 years, to around 500 million bottles last year (2018). The obvious allure of Prosecco is the price, as on average it is just a fraction of the cost of Champagne and is also priced lower than Spain’s own sparkling wine version, Cava.
PREMIUM VERSION: THE PROSECCO SUPERIORE
I have been drinking Prosecco for several years now, but I admit to drinking it basically in the absence of Champagne or even Cava during occasions and events. In my experience, Prosecco quality does vary quite a lot, but nothing so far from the ones I tried have really made a good impression on me, though some were indeed very decent.
At the recent Borsa Vini event in Singapore, I was introduced to the more premium DOCG version of this Italian sparkling wine by Dr. Umberto Cosmo, from his family owned Bellenda. Prosecco has been a DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), but only by 2009 was Prosecco Superiore created with two specific regions promoted to DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita). These are the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, which can only be made in the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene north of Treviso, and the Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG from the town of Asolo (amended in 2014) which was originally called Colli Asolani Prosecco Superiore DOCG in 2009.
BELLENDA
Bellenda started in 1986 and is a family owned winery with vineyards and production based in Carpesica, Vittorio Veneto, on the east-north side of the Prosecco DOCG area.
Bellenda has been a great representation of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG with several premium and high quality Proseccos in its portfolio. I was extremely impressed by the Bellenda Prosecco Superiores I tasted. Dr. Cosmo, from the family that runs this winery, was a very affable guy. His charming manners and sleek bow-tied outfit reminded me of Wolf Blass from Australia. Aside from tasting two of the best Proseccos I have ever tried — the Bellenda San Fermo Brut and Bellenda Miraval Extra Dry — what caught my interest most was the Bellenda Sei Uno Brut, which was the lone Prosecco done in classic method ala Champagne in the lineup brought to this Singapore fair. All these three Proseccos are classified Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCGs. According to Dr. Umberto, Bellenda was the first Prosecco producer to release a classic method version in 2007 for its 2004 vintage Sei Uno when everyone else in this sparkling wine region was just using the traditional Charmat method. Now there are more Prosecco producers going into this classic method. Aside from the Bellenda Sei Uno Brut, they also make two other classic method versions: the Bellenda SC 1931 Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG and their own blanc de blanc 100% Chardonnay Bellenda Saiph Metodo Classico non-DOC prosecco.
CUSTOMARY TASTING NOTES
I tasted three of the Bellenda Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines, all of which are made from 100% glera grapes, and here are my tasting notes:
• Bellenda San Fermo Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut 2018: San Fermo is the name of the church adjacent to the vineyard where the glera grapes come from; “subtle peach notes, yeasty, persistent bubbles stream, good acid backbone, with very crisp, clean and mineral finish.”
• Bellenda Miraval Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry 201: Miraval is the name of the vineyard where the Glera grapes come from for this particular Prosecco; “nose of green apple, white petal, lots of flintiness and depth in the palate, and ends with very dry citrusy notes.
• Bellenda Sei Uno Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut 2017: Sei Uno which means “You are One” was also the name of the first wine the family made for their personal enjoyment in 1961, long before establishing Bellenda in 1986; this is the same wine that pioneered the use of the Methode Champenoise in Prosecco making in 2007; “lovely nutty nose, fresh tropical fruits, fine and relentless streaming bubbles, rich texture on the palate, with long and racy finish.”
I seriously enjoyed all the Bellenda DOCG Proseccos I tasted, and with the added bonus of speaking to one of the Bellenda owners himself, Dr. Umberto Cosmo. My only slight issue on the premium Proseccos may be on how long and how tough it is to say Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG (over 10 syllables), as opposed to a simple Prosecco DOC. I will no longer scorn the idea of being served Prosecco this holiday season…. Prosecco is on the rise, and I am finally a fan!
The author is a proud member of the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com.
