Prosecco

When talking about Prosecco, the first thing that comes to mind is champagne. Yes, champagne and Prosecco are similar, but Prosecco isn't champagne and never can be. The reason for that is that champagne – like most of the sparkling wines – is protected. To be legally called champagne, sparkling wine has to come from the Champagne region in France.

Since the 2000s, the Prosecco grapes were cultivated outside of Italy and producers, especially in Australia, started making Prosecco because the Italian Prosecco hasn't been protected until 2009. That's why you can find Proseccos from Australian producers in our shop.

The most important differences between the two bubbly wines are the grapes utilised in the process, the possible sweetness, and the different winemaking method to bring the bubbles into the drink.

You can order your favourite wine from a wide range of sparkling wines, champagne, red and white wines on our Bottle Stop website. Also have a look at our cider, gin, or liqueur selections.

What is Prosecco?

Prosecco is an Italian white wine product made from fermented grape juice. The Prosecco sparkling wine is mainly produced in the small northern Italian province of Treviso, Veneto and the grapes grow on green hills that are entirely covered with vineyards. Prosecco producers primarily cultivate Glera grapes in their vineyards, which are Prosecco grapes but have been renamed in 2009 to protect Prosecco legally.

To be classified as a real Prosecco, denomination rules state that a minimum of 85% has to be Glera grapes and allow to blend in up to 15% of other grapes. In contrast, champagne from the North East of France mainly consists of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.

Due to the two regions' different locations, the Italian grapes are exposed to warmer, more southernly climates and tend to ripen with less acidity.

Prosecco is generally available as a sparkling or semi-sparkling version with the semi-sparkling versions also being known as spumante (fully-sparkling) and frizzante (fizzy). Still, wines are also permitted and are called tranquillo.

If you manage to hold a Prosecco Superiore DOCG in your hands, this is always the spumante variant. As the name already states, this superior Prosecco is of higher quality and produced only in vineyards around Asolo or between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. All the other Italian Proseccos are DOC sparkling wines. To explain things a little, DOC and DOCG are two classifications, and strict rules apply to earn these quality standards. DOCG has higher standards than DOC, and therefore the overall quality is better.

Why is Prosecco so popular?

The sales numbers of Prosecco have been going up over the last decade, and Prosecco is becoming even more popular. There are some reasons why Prosecco is so popular among consumers and it is more than just light bubbles.

The first reason is the most obvious, and that is the price. Compared to traditional champagne that is only produced in the champagne region, Prosecco is significantly cheaper.

The different pricing comes from two facts. Prosecco producers use a less costly tank production method to get the bubbles into the drink instead of adding bubbles to each bottle through the traditional method used for champagne. Therefore, producers need less time and less labour which makes Prosecco less costly to produce.

The other fact is positioning. Champagne is available for much longer than Prosecco, has established well-known brands, and is considered an absolute luxury. Like for a designer product brand, it is possible to command higher prices. In contrast, a bottle of Prosecco is seen as an affordable value sparkling drink.

The second reason is that Prosecco is made to taste fresh, light and simple. The bubbly drink makes a perfect aperitif, cocktail ingredient, and is very versatile when pairing it with different dishes and cuisines. The best ways to naturally pair a glass of Prosecco is with cured meat, antipasto, fruit-driven appetisers such as the Italian prosciutto and melon, or spicy Asian dishes. Make sure to serve Prosecco chilled like you would serve other sparkling wines. Like Cola, it doesn't taste good at room temperature.

A third reason is special occasions. Producers create affordable Prosecco in high quality and sell it for various events. These can be but aren't limited to a casual or business get together, parties and even fine dining.

How does Prosecco taste?

A Prosecco can be sweet or dry. It all comes down to how much sugar is added to the sparkling wine in the process. If you happen to drink a very sweet Prosecco although the bottle reads dry, you bought in on what the bottle`s label reads.

In Italy, however, they use dry for the sweetest of all the Proseccos and the naming system is quite confusing. There are the following options for you when buying a Prosecco from Italy. Take the extra brut if you prefer a very dry Prosecco or a brut when you want just a bit of sweetness. The extra dry is sweeter than the brut and an excellent all-around solution for most people. Ultimately, as stated above, the dry Prosecco, which is a very sweet sparkling wine. So make sure to always check the label and remember this little hierarchy when shopping from us.

Still, most of Prosecco's flavours tend to be on the sweeter side of things and have less acidity than their French counterpart. Proseccos are fruity and flowery which derives from the use of the Italian Glera grapes. The primary flavours of Prosecco are green apple, white peach, honey melon, honeysuckle, and pear. Fabulous bottles of fine Prosecco also offer flavours of tropical fruits and honeycombs.

Usually, wines tend to mature in large stainless steel tanks and producers introduce lower pressure levels. That way, Prosecco gets its light bubbles which stop forming shortly after the sparkling wine has been poured in a tulip glass. Due to the tulips glass' shape, the sparkling bubbles last a bit longer, and aromas can be discovered better.

How long does Prosecco last once opened?

The sad news is that Prosecco does go bad because it is a young wine and it usually doesn't age well as red or white wines do. It is generally recommended to drink a Prosecco within one year after purchase.

After you have opened a Prosecco the time it lasts comes down to how you have previously stored the bubbly wine. Store in cool and dry places to make it last longer. If you also use a wine stopper after finishing your last glass, you could get a few days out of your drink. Although the Prosecco has lost quite some fizz after opening it the first time, enjoying it two or three days after initially opening the bottle shouldn't be a big problem. If you usually tend to store your open sparkling wines overnight, invest in an excellent sparkling wine stopper. They aren't expensive and let you enjoy your sparkling drink longer.

In case your Prosecco has gone bad before you could finish it, we have some new delicious bottles waiting for you, and we ship Australia-wide, so you don't have to worry too much. We ship from Perth at the West Coast all the way to Sydney via cities like Adelaide and Canberra as well as along the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.