Introduction to the power of Prosecco
Compiled by Joe Hyam
Asked to recommend a sparkling wine for a new licensed café, I suggested Prosecco. It is not particularly well known in this country and would therefore offer the proprietor the chance to introduce customers to something they had not met before.
More importantly, it is a pleasing, accessible sparkler, dry and fruity, slightly bitter but creamy rather than acidic, and not too bubbly.
In the northern Italian region of Veneto, where Prosecco is made, it is often decanted into a jug similar to one we might serve cider in. It is ideal for drinking on its own and goes well with the sort of light dishes, sweet as well as savoury, that cafés serve.
An ex-VAT bottle price ranging between £4 and £6.50 would allow a café-bar to sell it for between £8-£15 a bottle or £2-£3 a glass.
The secondary fermentation which produces the fizz generally takes place in tanks. Variations in quality and style are largely due to the location of the vineyards. The best comes from Conegliano and Valdobbiane and from the sub-region of Valdobbiane, Cartizze.
Wines bearing the latter on the label are usually the most expensive and demonstrate their breeding with a special edge and freshness.
The term "spago frizzante" sometimes found on the label of less expensive Proseccos refers to a typically soft local style. "Spago" means string in Italian, and is often used alongside the word "tappo" which means "stopper".
The term "spago" was originally used by local farmers to indicate the amount of sparkle that could be retained in the bottle by tying a conventional cork in place with a piece of string.
A supplier worth contacting if you want to taste Prosecco is Mondial Wines (0181-335 3455), which lists four wines including a Rustico Tappo Spago at a trade price of £49.24 per case of 12 and a Superiore Cartizze at £55.28 per case of six.
Another supplier is Enotria Wines (0181-961 4411), which lists a Prosecco di Val-dobbiane at £50.40 per case of 12, a Ruggeri Spago Frizzante at £47.16 for 12 bottles, a more substantially sparkling Prosecco at £57.12, and a Cartizze at £53.10 per case of six.
And Winecellars (0181-871 3979) has a lively Conegliano Prosecco produced by Carpene Malvolti at £71.28 for a case of 12.
