Prosecco: Too Good for Its Own Good?

It happens all too often in the wine world; a region and its wine works hard to get the respect it deserves. The result? Fame and fortune for a select few and a sea of copycats happy to ride the coattails of success, complete with higher pricing and lesser quality. There seems to be a new victim of success every vintage; Pinot Noir (thank you Sideways), dry Rose', and now Prosecco looks ripe for the picking. Before things get too out of control, the Prosecco Consortium is taking steps to protect their unique sparkling wine.

A little background on Prosecco's evolution... The traditional home of the Prosecco grape is Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, just 30 minutes northwest of Venice. Its high natural acidity and bright fruit profile coupled with the region's cool climate is the perfect recipe to make a refreshing, food-friendly sparkler. As recent as the mid 80's, Prosecco was considered a throw-in on import deals; producers would literally give cases away for free, just to get a little exposure for this festive bubbly.

Fast forward to today; sparkling wine is no longer reserved for just weddings and New Year's Eve. Chefs and sommeliers are praising all things bubbly for its food-pairing virtues. And consumers are seeking out less expensive yet still interesting alternatives to Champagne; the perfect storm for Prosecco's new found fame.

The Consortium is justly concerned that Prosecco's recent success will lead to an overall demise in quality. They face the same issues that have plagued the great regions of Champagne and Burgundy for decades. The fact that Prosecco is a grape, not a region, makes their fight even more difficult, especially as the grape leaves NE Italy and makes its way to the US, Australia, even Brazil! Only time will tell if Prosecco can remain Prosecco.

Over the last five years we've built a cult following around the Castello di Roncade Prosecco, a beautifully made sparkling that shows off everything there is to love about the grape. Roncade delivers a crisp, mineral-laced wine every vintage, in fact; they are one of the few producers you'll ever see that makes vintage Prosecco. Every spring, we love releasing this wine and keeping the spirit of traditionally made Prosecco alive!