There is nothing more delightful than starting your day tasting Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. On February 23 I had the opportunity to taste eight Prosecco wines and attend a Masterclass held at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria.
Who are we
not all Prosecco is created equal
We are in the Veneto Region of north-east Italy, in a hilly zone of the Province of Treviso, between Venice and the Dolomites. Here vine-growing has extremely ancient origins and the borders of the historic production area have remained substantially unchanged since the 1930s. The production area includes 15 communes, two of which give their name to the Denomination: Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.
Why and how
Prosecco from Conegliano Valdobbiadene is “Superiore”
The Tasting:
La Farra Rive di Farra di Soligo 2020
Scents of coconut, vanilla, with a touch of mandarin orange, white grapefruit, and a bit funky (in a good way). Tart and crisp with high acidity. Flavours of mixed fruit salad.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Extra Brut
ZONE: Rive dei Nardi vineyard, in the upper hills of Farra di
Soligo in the hamlet of Collagù.
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI: 3 mos on lees in autoclaves, 3 mos in bottle
SOIL: clay and limestone, 220-300m.
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol.
RS: 5 g/L
Conte Collalto Ponte Rosso NV
Aromas of stone fruit, peach, fresh baked bread, tantalizing delicious scents. Light, delicious, red apples, coconut, almond. Lingering and soft.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Extra Brut
ZONE: Collalto – hills of Susegana
GRAPES: Glera tipped with Verdisio and
Bianchetta
VITI: 4-6 mos in autoclaves, then 2 mos bottle.
SOIL: red clay on a rock base
ALCOHOL: 12% vol.
RS: 2 g/L
Bellenda San Fermo 2021
Scents of Granny Smith applies, pink grapefruit, hard candy and Navel oranges. High acidity, more dense than the previous two wines. Flavours of green apples.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Brut
ZONE: Carpesica area of Conegliano
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI: 2 mos on lees in autoclaves
SOIL: Limestone-clay soils, 180m
ALCOHOL: 11.6
RS: 6.5 g/L
Perlage Canah NV
Burnt wood, toast, perspiration and faintly odours of cat pee (again, not a bad thing),. Certified organic. Hints of vanilla, mildly funky with scents of wet grass. I found this one too harsh for me.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Brut
ZONE: Refrontolo hills
GRAPES: 100% Glera
CULTURE: organic
SOIL: Morainic and calcareous hill
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol.
RS: 8 g/L
Valdellövo ZeroNove 2021
Vanilla, birthday cake, and celery scents. Flavours of fresh raspberries, lightly and pleasantly flavoured. Delicate but with sharp acidity.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Brut
ZONE: Crode at 200 meters above sea level
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI: 2 months in autoclave, 1 month bottle
SOIL:
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol
RS: 9 g/L
Bianca Vigna Rive di Collalto 2020
Subtle scents of green olives. Somewhat sweetish with ripe fruit but smooth, light acidity with an almost salty flavour. It was very good. The second most bubbly and retained its fizz. My #1 pick
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Extra Dry
ZONE: Rive of Collalto, between Conegliano
and Valdobbiadene in the South, under 200m
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI: 3 months in autoclave, 2 months in bottle
SOIL: clayey, calcareous
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol.
RS: 17 g/L
Cantina Bernardi Terra De Rù 2021
Aromas of ice cream, oatmeal, Meyer lemon, almost tropical, nougat, rose petals and orange slices. Soft, deep flavour. The wine stayed fresh and bubbly compared to most of the other wines. Very smooth. My #2 pick.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Superiore DOCG Extra Dry
ZONE: Refrontolo, in the middle of Conegliano
Valdobbiadene hills.
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI:
SOIL: 200-300m
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol.
RS: 15 g/L
Riccardo NV Conegliano
Scents of cooked carrots, roses, hard candy, red licorice, allspice and red apple slices. Good acidity, stronger flaours, very pleasant, smooth with very little acidity.
Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore
DOCG Dry
ZONE: Valdobbiadene
GRAPES: 100% Glera
VITI: 40 days in autoclaves
SOIL:
ALCOHOL: 11.5% vol.
RS: 21.5 g/L
A hand-crafted wine
In the region’s long history, man and the landscape have modelled each other: the growers have cultivated the hillsides in accordance with their natural contours, embroidering the often precipitous slopes with vines, while the steepness of the hills has imposed a “heroic” type of
viticulture on the farming families.
For every hectare of vineyard in the hills about 600 hours’ work is necessary each year, as opposed to an average of 150 on the plain.
This has meant that the majority of the properties are small, and often family-run. There are in fact over 3000growers looking after the vines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene.
From the vineyard to the glass
Our vineyard
is our home
Sustainability and Landscape
Viticultural Protocol
Since 2011 the Consortium has provided itself with a Viticultural Protocol, a document that has the goal of guiding, guaranteeing and educating about the process of change in the use of plant health products towards sustainable growth of a social, economic and environmental nature.
Its goal is to minimize the impact in the use of agro- chemicals for the environment, by increasing the sensitivity of the vine-growers to these themes.
Glyphosate ban
In 2019 the use of glyphosate has been banned in the whole production area, even if the Italian and European regulations still allow it to be employed.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene is so far the largest zone in Europe to forbid the use of glyphosate.
S.Q.N.P.I. Certification
The S.Q.N.P.I. (Sistema Qualità Nazionale Produzione Integrata) Certification was launched in 2019 for the growers in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco D.O.C.G. Denomination. This certification system takes into consideration all of the methods used in the production and defense of crops against adversities, works on reducing the use of synthetic chemical substances to a minimum in the vineyards, as well as regulating fertilization practices.
Many of the member companies immediately joined the Consortium’s certification project, encompassing the 10 % of the denomination. The goal is to have all the Denomination certified by 2029.
UNESCO World Heritage
From July 7h 2019 The Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadenehave been inscribed on UNESCO’S World Heritage list
Elements of authenticity:
“Hogback” geomorphological conformation. A series of steep, rugged slopes extending in an east-west direction,
interspersed with small parallel-running valleys.
“Ciglione”
A particular type of terrace that is covered not with stones, but with grassy soil.
“Patchwork” landscape
The work of thousands of small-scale wine producers has allowed for the creation of a multifarious agricultural landscape both in terms of form and composition.
“numbers”
How to Buy Prosecco Superiore
The Masterclass was facilitated by Treve Ring, (Wine: writer, editor, judge, speaker, traveller) All information, bottle shots and images featured here were presented at the Masterclass and tasting. I attended complimentary, as media. My comments (in italics)
