Bubbly at a bargain

Charting prosecco’s unplumbed depths

Prosecco and closely related Italian sparkling wines have chilled in Canadian fridges for long enough that they’re fast becoming as familiar as pizza or spaghetti. Too familiar, perhaps? I’ve noticed that when we buy Italy’s best-known sparkling wine, we often do it blindly. Who doesn’t just grab the cheap bottle we recognize, rather than investing time in a little research that could really pay off ? Well, I’ve been working my way through the list available at Ontario’s LCBO stores all summer — and I have some thoughts.

Against its abiding sweetness, the best proseccos offer a complex fruity bouquet (you may catch a whiff of pear, elderflower, strawberry or melon), as well as a cleansing carbonation and acidity that help them play nicely with a wide range of foods. And most are cheap.

I think the most delicious of the bunch so far has been Belcanto di Bellussi Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore ($20, Ontario prices given). It smells clean and sweet, with gooseberry and elderflower, while a flinty dryness washes down that nibble of prosciutto.

Canella’s Prosecco, meanwhile, bursts out of the bottle with pear, peach and green apple, on a bed of soft carbonation. It’s beautifully balanced and complex, and the value is spectacular: Canella comes in a full-sized bottle for $15, as well as a picnic-friendly 200 millilitres for $6.

Among also-ran but perfectly worthwhile proseccos, Fiol ($13) is cheap, sweet and creamy (wild carbonation and some minerality counteract the sweetness). Also worth a try: vanillascented Blu Giovello ($15), crisp but ripely fruity Fantinel Extra Dry ($17) and the complex and interesting Nino Franco Brut Valdobbiadene ($18.75).

Although Foss Marai Roös Spumante Rosé ($20) isn’t technically a Prosecco because of the composition of the grapes (the glera varietal is supposed to represent at least 85 per cent of a Prosecco), its nuanced sweetness is unique, and it comes in a beautiful bottle to boot. Pouring a vigorous salmon hue, it brims with aromas of ripe strawberry and (here’s a new one) honey — the acidity just rescues it from being insipid. You’ll enjoy it best if you stick to one glass.

Finally, if sweet is what you really want anyway, brachetto may be a more suitable wine style for you. Made in the northwestern region of Piedmont from the must of a grape called brachetto d’acqui, brachetto is a pink and lightly alcoholic sparkling wine that sports distinctive strawberry, raspberry and floral aromas. The only brand available in my home province is Acquesi ($13). It smells like candied rose — think of the gelatinous red middle of a Turkish delight candy — but it’s more sophisticated than that probably sounds. Pair with meal-ending fruit or chocolate, sit back and enjoy whatever dolce you can carve out of your hectic vita.