For those who love a sparkling wine and being bubbly at a weekend brunch, how much do you know about what you're drinking? Prosecco is often used as the cheaper alternative to Champagne - yes, they both fall into the sparkling wine category, but how interchangeable are they when it comes to style?
Video Transcription
Hi everyone, I'm excited today to be talking to you about the wonderful Prosecco style of wine.
Some people refer to it as "the poor man's Champagne", which I think is very unfair because you cannot put these two wines into the same category as they are made in two completely different styles. So I'm here just to breakdown Prosecco and give you a better understanding of the style.
So to start off, the origin of Prosecco is northeastern Italy and is most commonly produced in the region of Veneto.
It's also made from one of Italy's native grapes, Glera, but other grapes are also permitted such as Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir but only to a maximum of 15%.
So Glera, as the grape variety, is still the grand-daddy of the Prosecco region.
Prosecco is made in a method called 'Charmat', so it's very different to Champagne.
Unlike Champagne, which undergoes a secondary fermentation in a bottle to get its carbonation, Prosecco undergoes its secondary fermentation in specialised tanks to get its carbonation. Because the tank method and secondary fermentation is so efficient, it means that the product of Prosecco is less expensive to make and then of course less expensive to purchase. But I don't want you to think that because of this that the quality is of any less value because Prosecco still has great great quality aspects to it.
So about the flavour, the flavour of Prosecco can be described as being very aromatic and crisp bringing to mind flavours of yellow apple, pear, white peach and apricot notes.
Another interesting thing about Prosecco is: not many people know the origin of the name is because there's a town called Prosecco in the region of Friuli, and that's where the making of Prosecco first all began.
So to round things off, a fun fact: I'm sure not a lot of people know this but not all Prosecco is actually sparkling, you do get Prosecco which is still and that is referred to as “tranquillo".
So if you want to learn more about Prosecco and other wonderful varieties and styles from around the world then join me for my One Day Express Crash Course In Wine, where we will take you through and divulge the wonderful world of wine in a very easy, very simple manner so by the time you walk out of the door you'll know quite a bit more and you can really really use this knowledge to your advantage, to impress your friends, or even just impress loved ones at the restaurant
We look forward to seeing you soon!