Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
A delicious combination between know-how and territory
Prosecco is a wine produced in the North-East of Italy, in a limited area that enclose 9 provinces in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto.
From 01st August 2009, the new rules foresee the production of Prosecco on three levels. On the top we find the one called Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore that has obtained forty years ago the DOC certification. But today this Italian excellence has been recognized as DOCG, the maximum qualitative recognition of the oenological sector.
At the same time, the “simple” Prosecco received the DOC that substituted the IGT recognized in advance, to guarantee a higher controls and guarantees.
The production area of Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene DOCG
The production area is enclosed in the province of Treviso, between the cities of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene: a territory with a mild climate, halfway through Dolomites and the sea, where the sweetness of the hills is combined with the knowledge and the strength of the winemakers, creating a landscape characterized by beauty and charm, so that it has been nominated as intangible UNESCO heritage.
The municipalities enclosed in the production area of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG are 15. All the 20.000 hectares of production are, in the most sunny areas, completely decorated by rows of vines, at an altitudes comprehended between 50 and 500 metres a.s.l., for a total amount of 6.000 hectares of vineyards.
Characteristics of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is an elegant wine, of a light straw yellow colour with a delicate bouquet characterized by fruity and floral aromas.
It is produced in different types of Spumante, that according to the sugar residual can be Brut, Extra Dry and Dry, Sparkling or produced according to the Italian method and characterized by freshness; or Tranquillo (still), less popular but excellent paired with sea starters, with notes of apple, pear, almond and honey.
Cru Spumante wines of Valdobbiadene DOCG
Among the Spumante wines there are the cru, like the exclusive Cartizze and Rive.
Superiore di Cartizze is produced in a small area of just 107 hectares of vineyards, all comprehended in the hills of S. Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Saccol, in the municipality of Valdobbiadene.
Cartizze is born hanks to the combination of a perfect microclimate and a soil characterized by sandstone, clay and moraine that allow a healthy and harmonious development of the vine. It is an excellent Spumante wine, pretty rich and intense.
A bouquet characterized by notes of apple, pear, apricot, citrus, rose and glazed almonds, with a delicate and sapid taste, a thin and elegant perlage: Cartizze is a great wine that can be perfectly paired with desserts made of short bread pastry, crust and focaccia.
Spumante Rive, instead, is produced with grapes coming from a unique municipality or a unique location: it is the real essence of a territory, as maximum expression of the different terroir enclosed in the area of production of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG.
With the world Rive, in the local dialect, we mean the vineyards literally grabbed on the most steeped tops of the hills. In the production area of Prosecco Speriore DOCG there are 43 recognized Rive, for a production that reaches the 120 quintals per hectare. An exclusive delicacy!
Code of production
In 2009 it obtained the DOCG certification, the fortieth Italian DOCG. Conegliano Valdobbiadene received a new code of production that keeps lots of production rules already used. Produced with the Italian method, with secondary fermentation in autoclave, Prosecco Superiore DOCG is obtained with grapes of local wines: at least 85% of the grapes used have to belongs to the Glera wine variety, rough and well-structured that give to the wine its basic structure.
The other 15% can be made of grapes of Verdiso, Bianchetta, Perera, Glera Lunga typical of this area, but also Pinot and Chardonnay. The production of the DOCG is of 135 quintals per hectare.
