NIGHT &DAY
IFDOMPéRIGNONTRULYSAID, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars” upon tasting the champagne he supposedly invented, then your first sip of Prosecco, the sparkling wine of Italy’s Veneto region, will feel like sunlight dancing on your tongue.
Freshness is the definitive characteristic of Prosecco, with its primary flavours of white peach, pear, apple and white flowers bursting in every bubble – bright, crisp and unpretentious. While Italians drink it with everything from barbecue to rich heavy foods, most North Americans associate it with an afternoon on an outdoor patio or as an aperitif. But with doubledigit percentage growth worldwide since the turn of the century, bottles of the bubbly must be appearing on more dinner tables and restaurant menus than ever – and not just for use in the legendary Bellini cocktail invented by Giuseppe Cipriani of Harry’s Bar in Venice in the 1940s.
Historically, Prosecco was a rustic wine made by farmers growing glera, a common Italian grape in the province of Treviso north of Venice. The unfiltered wine would separate, with yeast settling at the bottom imparting a bread crumb flavour while the top half offered a clearer, fruitier drink. It was drunk with every meal, and every farmhouse made its own. Today, the farmers sell their produce to the winemakers (few vintners in Italy own vineyards), and new production techniques yield a more refined wine.
While Prosecco and Champagne may have bubbles in common – Prosecco is often considered an inexpensive alternative to the French sparkler (not a bad marketing ploy at that, considering the cost of some Champagnes), the two wines have a