What Is Prosecco?
Everything you need to know about Champagne’s less-pricey, but equally delicious, Italian counterpart.
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Any mention of sparkling wine or "bubbles" has become synonymous with Champagne — which, frankly, isn't fair. Yes, Champagne is delicious and glamorous, but the world is full of other options to ring in holidays, clink during celebratory moments, and sip during brunch.
Prosecco is likely one you've seen on menus before, but what exactly is it? And how does it compare to its bubbly brother?
Prosecco Facts
First things first, Prosecco is a product of Italy. Specifically (and almost exclusively) from the Veneto region, where the grapes grow splendidly in the non-fertile volcanic soil near hills — the bits of sand, clay, and gravel infusing them with flavor. The name Prosecco specifically comes from the village of Prosecco in Friuli in Northern Italy.
What grapes are these, you ask? Great question. Prosecco is made from glera, a light-bodied, green-skinned white grape. This sparkling wine is well-loved and perfect for budget-conscious folks with Champagne dreams.
Prosecco is soft, light, ever-so-slightly sweet, and delicately fizzy. It's vibrantly fruity and less distinctly crisp than Champagne, and its notes of melon, apple, peaches, and/or pears provide the perfect complement to bitter amaro in a spritz, where the bready-ness of Champagne would falter.
Related:What Is Vermouth?
Is Prosecco Considered Wine?
Absolutely! Wine is alcohol made from fermenting grape juice, and this is exactly that. It just happens to have carbon dioxide in the mix.
Spumante is often used interchangeably with Prosecco, and spumante translates to “sparkling wine” or “bubbly wine” in Italian. (Not to be confused with frizzante, meaning semi-sparkling.) Flat Prosecco also exists, which has no bubbles or very little, but it isn't well known or easily available. So for the purposes of this article, and likely your life, we'll just be referencing the bubbly stuff.
Prosecco vs. Champagne
Both are bubbly, refreshing, and brimming with high acidity, but that's near where the similarities end. The differences between these two sparklers come down to three things: location, method of production, and grape varietals.
Wines all over the world, but especially in Europe, are protected by region — the goal being to ensure an authentic product. As previously mentioned, Prosecco is Italian and the name references the region, not the product itself. Sparkling wine is only a Prosecco if from the Prosecco region of Italy.
Related:How to Know if Your 'Italian' Ingredients Are Actually Italian
Likewise, Champagne is only Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France. However, many sparkling wines, including some from California, are made in the Champagne-style, or méthode champenoise, to mimic true Champagne. Méthode champenoise is a laborious process consisting of:
Harvesting the grapes
Pressing the grapes
Fermentation of the grapes
Blending
Liqueur de Tirage: A process where the winemaker moves the wine to its permanent bottle and adds a blend of sugar and yeast
Second fermentation: The fermentation process occurring in-bottle.
Aging
Riddling: A six- to eight-week step where the wine is placed in A-frame racks with the neck down, and a person (known as a riddler) turns each one slightly while gradually tipping the bottle further down until the bottle is completely vertical and the sediments have collected in the neck
Dégorgement: This entails submerging the bottle’s neck in a brine solution to freeze it and removing the temp cap, causing the sediments to shoot out, compliments of carbon dioxide.
Dosage: Adding a combination of wine and cane sugar, where the wine maker decides how sweet or dry he/she wants the Champagne to be.
Recorking: In other words, adding a real cork to the bottle.
Prosecco, on the other hand, is made by the charmat method, where the wine undergoes a second fermentation in pressurized tanks instead of in individual bottles. This is, obviously, less painstaking and more cost-effective — facts its price tag reflects. Additionally, these tanks are large, accommodating up to 100,000 bottles of sparkling wine in some cases, allowing a more consistent product on a much larger scale.
Recently, a more ancestral method called col fondo or "with sediment" has been making its return, where the wine is bottled while still-fermenting. This process allows the wine to become fizzy in the bottle, with the sediment adding texture and yeastiness. These bottles are dry, because they don't receive additional dosage.
Great Grapes
To be classified as Prosecco, the wine must be made up of at least 85% glera grapes. Other grapes might be blended in, like chardonnay, pinot grigio, pinot bianco, pinot noir, verdiso, bianchetta trevigiana, perera, etc. — however, these blending grapes cannot exceed 15%.
Rosé Prosecco is made with the addition of pinot noir grapes left on their skin, giving it its beautiful blush color.
Champagne is made with a variety of grapes, but most notably chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier, and sometimes arbane, petit meslier, and pinot gris.
Related:18 Recipes That Prove Champagne Pairs With Almost Everything
Types of Prosecco
When it comes to the different types of Prosecco, or any sparkling wine, for that matter, categorization can get tricky. It's best to keep the following summary handy as a guide.
Prosecco Types
Extra-Brut: very dry
Brut: a bit sweeter than extra-brut
Extra-Dry: sweeter than both brut options
Dry: the sweetest option
A bit confusing, yeah? Just to add to the conundrum, here's the breakdown for purchasing Champagne.
Champagne Types
Brut: dry
Extra-Dry: somewhat dry, but less dry than brut
Sec: semi-sweet
Demi-Sec: sweet
If you want bone-dry, purchase a brut nature or zero dosage Champagne.
Related:What Is Brut Champagne? Brut vs. Extra-dry Champagne
How to Drink Prosecco
Chill those bubbles! Ever drink a warm soft drink on purpose? Me neither.
And contrary to popular belief, a flute is counter-intuitive to drinking sparkling wines like Prosecco or Champagne. You want a larger surface area, allowing the bubbles to spread out and the wine to breathe, which enhances the taste. The 1920s - 1980s had it right, serving bubbly wine in coup glasses. Flutes might add a certain sleek sophistication, but an enhancement to bubbles they are not.
Related:Your Guide to Essential Cocktail Glassware
Prosecco makes a great aperitif (especially being that it's one of the lowest ABV wines, coming in at or around 12%). The folks in Venice do many things right and serving up copious amounts of bubbles in the late afternoon as an ombrette, or pick-me-up, is one of them. Now that's a happy hour!
Sparkling wine is the "go-to" for many a celebration but, as a society, we really ought to normalize enjoying it any time, any old day of the week. Prosecco makes for an affordable, delightful mimosa, bellini, or spritz (likely whenever you order one at a brunch restaurant, it'll be made with Prosecco or Cava, bubbles from Spain).
Try pairing your Prosecco with more than dessert; salty courses work wonderfully with it. Fried foods or anything with prosciutto are an outstanding match.
