As I mentioned in my post on foodie experiences you have to try in Venice, Prosecco is one of this northern Italian city’s staple beverages, not least because it’s so inexpensive. It’s such a trendy drink right now, mainly because you can buy it in bulk, it’s pretty inoffensive and it gets you well on the way to being pretty darn merry for less than a tenner. What’s not to like?
Prosecco grapes thrive in northern Italy because it’s a cooler region; they can’t get too ripe, which in turn means their sweetness is tempered and thus the wine doesn’t get too alcoholic. Unlike Champagne and Cava, Prosecco doesn’t spend any time on its lees and fermentation is conducted entirely in tanks, which means there aren’t any outside flavours (buttery elements, or those beautiful yeasty notes I mentioned in my Champagne Lallier review) to taint those fresh fruity notes that everybody loves. Prosecco is usually sweeter than Champagne and Cava, too; this is often because the fermentation process is halted at a certain point, usually by chilling.
This Prosecco was cheap as chips from our local supermarket in Venice. Venice has a particular region close by that’s known for really high-quality Prosecco – if the bottle has the phrase Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG somewhere on the label, it means that the grapes are grown between two specific towns to the north-west of the city. I picked this bottle up without realising how good it would be. GET IN!
Hope you like the photos – I took them from our kitchen window on a cool evening in Venice. Beyond the mosquito net you can see the courtyard which a local restaurant backed on to. You could hear people laughing and chatting into the courtyard late into the night, and in the morning there was washing strung out between the buildings. Bellissimo.
Name: Dame Tervise, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, Vino Frizzante
Vineyard/Country: Dame Tervise, near Venice, northeast Italy
Vintage: Not specified, but Prosecco is not meant for ageing, so it’d be pretty young
Price (mls): €3.99
Shop: Random Venetian Supermercato
Colour / Intensity: Very pale lemon
Nose: Classic Prosecco – apples (specifically Appletize), elderflower presse, fresh gooseberries
Taste: Apple juice, fresh apple skins, green grapes. A beautiful light texture, really fresh, zesty and refreshing.
Rating: 9/10
Good for: Everything – we drank it as an aperitif as we prepped dinner (stuffed griddled aubergines), but it was, like most Prosecco, light enough to drink on its own at just 10.5% ABV
Crumbs and Roses 
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