The Pyramid of Prosecco Regions
Not only is it the name of the town (11,000 pop) but also the name of a wine-growing region —Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. And if you are a fan of Prosecco, like me, you know the best Prosecco comes from this region. The Veneto is the leading Prosecco producer in Italy, and the La Strada de Prosecco (the Prosecco Road) and the vineyards are a UNESCO Heritage site. Prosecco is low in alcohol and perfect for warm weather and aperitifs, but in this region, the locals drink it from breakfast til dinner. You’ll find many cafes filled with locals for their morning colazione (breakfast), enjoying a glass or two of the beautiful bubbles. Unfortunately, it has become synonymous with cheap, cheery bubbles in America, but that’s because most Prosseco in America is imported from the mass-produced and extended DOC region. Prior to 2009, Prosseco was from a relatively small area – then, with the massive demand for Prosseco – farmers tore down corn fields in the low-lying plains to plant grapes in an enormous growing zone and expanded the DOC area to cover nine provinces now. Before you buy another bottle of the famous bubbly, you need to understand the difference between the regions and their regulations. There are three main regions of Prosecco production. DOC, DOCG, and DOCG Cartizze. The DOC region covers over 62,000 acres of vineyards in lower-lying areas where many farmers tore out their corn fields to plant vines. The DOC denomination is mostly mass-produced at eight to ten different wineries with over fourteen processing plants (think Lamarca and Mionetto). This region produces over 616 million bottles of Prosecco a year, most of which are headed to America. Compared to this, the DOCG region covers 20,000 acres and produces about 110,000 bottles. The most expensive DOCG Superiore di Cartizze (the Golden Pentagon) covers only 266 acres, produces only 1.5 million bottles, and uses 100% Glera grapes grown on steep hillsides, preserving the cultural heritage of working the land by hand. We did a fabulous wine tasting at a very small winery, PDC Cartizze, but sadly, they do not export to the U.S.A. However, on one of our hikes near our flat, we walked through the vineyards of San Pietro di Barbozza, and I remember many of my favourite Proseccos came from the very hillside we were walking on! How cool is that?
