Thanks to its easy drinking reputation and affordability, Prosecco is one of the most popular sparkling wines today. But most bottles you’ll find on grocery store shelves are commercially produced wines. They’re pleasant enough to drink, they just sit at a basic level in terms of quality.
However, in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene area of northern Italy they make a wine called Prosecco Superiore DOCG. If you think all Prosecco is the same, you’re in for a treat when you taste a Superiore DOCG. With intense lemon, green apple, nectarine, and pear notes, minerality, and aromatics that include rose petal and white flowers, this high-end Prosecco is completely deserving of its “Cru” status.
The Prosecco Crus are single vineyard estates located in ravines and valleys along the region’s hills – the Superiore DOCG region itself is divided into 43 of them. Referred to locally as “Rive,” each Riva has its own unique terroir, thanks to differences in altitude, sun exposure, temperature and the characteristics of the local soil. Yields in a Riva tend to be low, by law they must be 25% lower per hectare than in the DOC areas. All grapes are also hand harvested with almost no machinery used during cultivation.
The best part? Neighboring Treviso DOC also makes a delicious Prosecco that’s of a higher quality than your basic sparkling wine. This wine comes from a slightly larger area with vineyards located at the base of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills. Treviso DOC wines have beautiful structure, pleasant aromatics, and noteworthy length to their fruit.
Where to buy high-end Prosecco
So where can you find these two types of Prosecco? A fine wine shop might carry them but you may also need to request they order some in. If you’re ordering bottles, a top Prosecco producer to ask for is Adami. Adami is available to retailers in most states in the US and was one of the first winemakers to actually introduce and export single Riva Prosecco from the Conegliano Valdobbiadene region.
A Superiore DOCG wine typically starts at $25+ a bottle but if you manage to get a hold of a wine from the exclusive Cartizze Riva, it may run you $50+. A wine from DOC Treviso will usually fall in the $18-20 range.
Extra Brut or Extra Dry styles?
Proseccos come in different styles, or levels of dryness, from Brut Nature, to Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry and Dry. Pick up a DOCG that’s in an Extra Dry or Dry style if you can. You may notice a touch of sweetness but this is the best way to appreciate the fruit profile of the wine.
The Glera grape
Prosecco is made from a grape varietal known for its bright fruit and aromatics. The Glera grape is native to this region and dates back to Roman times, though it’s only had its current name since the late 18th century. While today Glera is mostly used to produce Prosecco, it was originally cultivated to make a white table wine.
History of Prosecco
They first started making sparkling wine from the Glera grape in the early 20th century when a man named Antonio Carpenè visited the Spumante region in Piedmonte and was inspired by the production techniques he observed for introducing carbonation into still wines. A chemist and a researcher, Carpenè returned home to Treviso and began to perfect his method, producing the first sparkling wine labeled Prosecco in 1924. Since then, his family has carried on producing wines under the Carpenè Malvolti Winery name.
However, while Prosecco was always known locally, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that it really started to become popular in the United States, as part of a growing trend of affordably priced sparkling wines available by the glass and bottle.
In 2009, driven by the Adami family and a group of producers from Conegliano Valdobbiadene, the Prosecco DOCG status was introduced for wines from designated Riva regions. Prosecco has continued to grow in popularity since then, but Conegliano Valdobbiadene wines are still relatively unknown outside of Italy.
Wine Tip: DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata and DOCG Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. While DOCG is the higher quality standard, both are used to designate top wines from Italy. You will see this designation listed on a bottle’s label.
More on Prosecco Superiore DOCG
The DOCG area for Prosecco spans 15 villages located between the towns of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. Because of the general steepness of the hills where most of the vineyards are located, yields tend to be on the low side and temperatures can range significantly between night and day. This gives the wine good acidity and more complexity.
DOCG rules state that Prosecco Superiore must be at least 85% Glera but you’ll find many wines are at 95-100%. A DOCG wine will be a pale gold in color with intense fruit, floral aromatics, including rose petal, and excellent acidity. These wines are not usually vintage dated and release dates can vary by producer (you want to drink them young). You’ll find both single vineyard, known as single Riva, wines and wines that are a blend of grapes grown in the different Rive.
The Prosecco Rive
There are 43 Prosecco Rive located in different communes and cultivated by over 3000 families. Each produces wines with a distinct character and unique flavor profile that reflects the local terroir. Here are some standout areas to explore:
- Valdobbiadene – Valdobbiadene Prosecco is known for its richness, stone-fruit flavors, including apricot, peach, lemon, and floral aromatics.
- Santo Stefano, San Vito – These areas are known for producing wine with fine bubbles. Flavors include tropical fruit, pear, nectarine, peach and rose flower aromatics.
- Bigolino, San Giacomo di V. – These vineyards produce well balanced wines with citrus notes, green apple, and tropical fruit.
- Cartizze (Superiore) – One of the most exclusive Prosecco Rive, this area has been celebrated for making exceptional wines since the 1960s. Vineyards have sandy soils, receive plenty of sunlight, and are governed by the strictest regulations in the region. The wines are known for their up-front fruit flavors with white flower aromatics.
- Arfanta, Campea, Guia – Arfanta, Campea and Guia produce pleasant and balanced wines with green apple and stone-fruit notes, alongside hints of lemon.
- Refrontolo, Farra di S., Vidor – Try a wine from Refrontolo, Farra di S. or Vidor and you’ll note its elegance and tropical profile, with pear and green apple notes.
- Susegana – Prosecco from this part of the Valdobbiadene region can be quite intense in its flavors and have both green apple and citrus, along with spice and local herb flavors.
- Feletti – A typical Prosecco from the region, this wine has delicious fullness to its fruit, which includes green apple, and some spice.
- Ogliano, Carpesica – These areas produce Proseccos with good length. They’re characterized by green apple, tropical and stone-fruit.
Treviso DOC
Both standard Prosecco and Treviso Prosecco are labeled DOC, meaning they’re higher quality wines. However, the Treviso DOC sits at a slightly higher elevation at the foot of the Rive hills. They’ve been cultivating Glera around Treviso for over 100 years and production regulations are slightly stricter here, and more controlled than for the standard DOC. Expect a pale gold sparkling wine that’s at least 85% Glera with delicate aromatics and good length to its fruit.
Pairing food with Prosecco
Like most bubbles, Prosecco pairs well with a range of food. Enjoy a glass with salty meats and charcuterie board spreads, including Prosciutto, Bruschetta, and Focaccia. It also particularly suits light appetizers, including salads and fresh shellfish, and is a good by the glass dessert course wine. Pair Prosecco with fresh fruits and berries or serve it alongside a light ginger cake.
Prosecco vs Champagne
While they are both sparkling wines, most Prosecco has a touch of sweetness to it compared to Champagne and is made in a very different way. Instead of fermentation happening in the Champagne bottle as yeast cells interact with the sugars in the wine, Prosecco gets its carbonation through a fermentation process that takes place in large temperature-controlled vats. This is mainly due to the nature of the Glera grape which cannot hold onto its freshness, crispness or aromatics if it’s exposed to yeast for long periods of time.
The fermentation process itself is called Carpenè Malvolti after the first producer to make Prosecco, and it is a form of the Charmant process where a blend of still wine sits in a pressure-controlled container that has sugar and yeast added for a set period of time. The wine is then separated from its lees and bottled.
5 Fun facts about Prosecco
- Prosecco gets its name from a village near Trieste. The village is not far from the Italian Slovenian border and its name is actually of Slovenian origin.
- Prosecco is the most highly consumed sparkling wine in the world. In 2023, just over 880 million bottles of Prosecco were purchased around the world, compared to 325,000 of Champagne.
- No machinery is used in Prosecco Superiore DOCG Vineyards. The hills are simply too steep so everything needs to be done by hand!
- The word “Riva” comes from a local Venetian dialect. The famous city of Venice, Italy, built across a series of lagoon islands, is not far from Treviso. The Superiore DOCG region and Venice even share an airport.
- Prosecco is not the only Italian sparkling wine. Italy also produces Moscato d’Asti, which tends to be on the sweet side and lower in carbonation, and Asti Spumante, another sweet wine. In Lombardy, they produce a Champagne style wine called Franciacorta. Italy’s latest sparkling wine designation comes from the Piedmonte area: Alta Longa DOCG is produced using predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.
A note on Standard Prosecco
Most of the Prosecco you’re likely familiar with is a type of Prosecco DOC that comes from flat vineyards in the northern Italian regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trieste. Grapes grown in these regions are fuller, but they don’t have the quality, structure and complexity of those that come from the DOCG hills or Treviso. The vines tend not to be stressed and production is on a bulk scale – there are over 550 villages producing DOC Prosecco compared to just 15 for DOCG.
Italian law requires Prosecco DOC to be at least 85% Glera but you can find other grapes in the blend including Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. A standard Prosecco will be light gold in color and have bright bubbles with some mild fruit notes and a pleasant crisp finish. Sugar content can range depending on the kind of bottle you have. An Ultra-Brut will have no residual sugar and with an Extra-Dry you’ll be able to taste more sweetness and sugar in the wine.
