Prosecco? It’s only good for descaling your kettle, claims top restaurateur

FOR some, it is a must for special occasions – and for many others it adds sparkle to a casual midweek drink with friends.

But much of the cheaper prosecco being drunk by Britons would be better used for cleaning dentures or descaling kettles, according to a leading restaurateur.

Russell Norman, founder of the award-winning Polpo Venetian restaurants, said: ‘Aside from mixing it in cocktails, I leave it to hen parties. I leave it to wearers of novelty T-shirts.

‘I leave it to the terrifying hordes of daytime drinkers who haven’t been able to score a Prozac prescription. Although I’ve heard that it is good for removing stains from dentures. And dissolving limescale in kettles.’

He gave his scathing assessment of what he considers to be the lowquality, industrially-produced Italian fizz sold in some supermarkets in food and drink magazine Noble Rot.

He singled out ‘Lidl car park prosecco at £3.33 a bottle’ and also expressed his horror at the ‘disturbing’ growth in prosecco-themed gifts, such as a doormat with the words ‘Come in if you have prosecco!’ written on it.

Prosecco has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in popularity as the UK’s party drink of choice over the past decade.

But Mr Norman said this success has led to mass production and a dip in quality. In the article, he points to how two classification labels were created by a consortium of producers to confirm a bottle’s status: DOC, which means designation of controlled origin, and in 2009, as the prosecco boom began, the more stringently regulated DOCG, which means designation of controlled origin and guaranteed.

Mr Norman said: ‘It meant the DOCG winemakers could not cheat, cut corners or overproduce. The lessregulated wineries, however, were able to produce on an industrial scale at a much lower price, making wines that were no longer a sophisticated expression of the glera grape, but an 11.5 per cent ABV lemonade that has been enthusiastically embraced and guzzled by the masses, from stampeding crowds stockpiling Lidl ‘six bottles for £20’ special offers to hen parties swigging directly from the neck.’

He said ‘good prosecco’ was still available in the UK and recommended those labelled Cartizze, an area within the main producers’ region of Valdobbiadene, which cost around £30 a bottle.

Andrea Battistella, a wine specialist at the Consortium for Prosecco DOC, denied that prosecco was industrially produced or low quality and said every batch was thoroughly tested.

A Lidl spokesman said: ‘We’re grateful to Russell for calling out the unbeatable value of Lidl’s awardwinning Allini Prosecco.

‘We would also like to emphasise that at Lidl we are big on embracing everyone who enjoys good food and drink – which always includes the novelty T-shirt wearers.’

‘Guzzled by the masses’