Prosecco classifications
The Prosecco DOC production area covers the northeast Italian territories of Treviso, Venice, Vicenza, Padua and Belluno in the Veneto; and Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG covers the Treviso province of Veneto, on the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, while there is also the smaller Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG, produced near the town of Asolo.
Superiore di Cartizze is a hill within the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG that is famous for producing the most concentrated expression of Prosecco – and often the sweetest. It covers 107ha and is home to the most expensive vineyard land in Italy, with an estimated value of €1.5m-€2m (£1.32m-£1.76m) per hectare.
While Cartizze is at the top of the Prosecco Superiore DOCG quality pyramid, the Consorzio recently introduced the Rive delimitations, which are named after particular sub-zones with distinct and high-quality terroirs.
The majority of Prosecco is sold as ‘Extra Dry’, meaning it contains 12-17g/l of residual sugar. Lower than that is sold as ‘Brut’, and higher is labelled ‘Dry’ (17-32g/l).
Prosecco regions, in order of size
Prosecco DOC
9 provinces in 2 regions of Italy – Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia
Area under vine: 24,450ha
Max yield: 18,000kg/ha
Production (2018): 464m bottles
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
15 communes in the province of Treviso
Area under vine: 7,800ha
Max yield: 13,500kg/ha
Production (2018): 90m bottles
Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG
19 communes in the province of Treviso
Area under vine: 1,800ha
Max yield: 13,500kg/ha
Production (2018): 12m bottles
About the competition
The drinks business Prosecco Masters, now in its sixth year, is a competition exclusively for the Italian sparkling wine. This year’s event saw more than 100 entries judged blind by a panel of highly experienced tasters. The best wines were awarded medals that ranged from Bronze through to Gold, as well as Master, the ultimate accolade, given only to exceptional wines in the tasting. The Proseccos were tasted over the course of one day at Balls Brothers wine bar, London, EC2N, on 4 April.
Click here to read more about the competition.
Those wishing to enter can enter online here or by emailing [email protected]
Last year’s Prosecco Masters report can be read here.
Just tried GN prosecco as we were given a bottle?Where can I buy it?