![]() Meyer lemon semifreddo with fresh berries and cardamom granola at Sepia If you look for Prosecco with the letters DOCG on the label, you’re off to a good start. Fortunately for the non-Italian-speaking consumer, there is no need to remember the name of the consorzio or the towns. The approximately 15,000 acres of the Prosecco DOCG occupy picturesque hills around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, hence the consorzio’s rather unwieldy name. The vineyards with more potential for high quality are in the smaller DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) zone. Most of this DOC is flat and relatively unexciting, at least in vinous terms. These wines come from grapes grown anywhere within the DOC zone - Italy’s largest DOC, in fact - an expanse of almost 35,000 acres. Most Proseccos, and certainly the most inexpensive ones, are classed as DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata). The trick is that these were all classified as Prosecco Superiore DOCG. (Full disclosure: The lunch and wines were provided free of charge.) We tried seven different Proseccos, all of which exhibited complexity as well as food-friendliness. Really, though, what more can one ask from a party wine?īut cheap and cheerful is not Prosecco’s only mood, as reaffirmed by a recent lunch I attended that was hosted by the Consorzio Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco. Even inexpensive Prosecco is usually cheerful and well-balanced, if not anything worth deep contemplation. How many parties have I attended at which I spotted a bottle of cheap Prosecco, perhaps even served in a red plastic cup? Frankly, it’s usually a relief - I’d much rather sip a $10 Prosecco than a Barefoot Bubbly or some such. The wines are refreshing, they can be drunk as an aperitif before dinner or with a meal."ġ00% Pinot Noir from Monterrey, 50% fermented in tank, 50% fermented in neutral oak and aged for 10 months in large neutral oak.A hotsy-totsy bottle also helps differentiate high-end Prosecco from the basic stuff. “People want ripe fruit and a clean taste that’s not too oaky or tannic,” he says. Gordon has kept to his original promise that wines with the Bacchus label will always be affordable and delicious. The current sources have provided high-quality fruit at a fair price year after year. Today, all the wines are sourced from top producers who don’t want to be named because they also sell in the market. The first Chardonnay vintage was 1992, released in 1994. Producers such as Caymus, Lewis Cellars, and Miner Family provided grapes and helped with the winemaking for the early cuvées. In the beginning, Gordon sourced the wines from his friends in Napa and Sonoma. At the time, there were very few non-French somms working in the city and the British-born Court of Master Sommeliers was in its infancy. Gordon, who is self-taught, began learning about wine in the 1980s just as Kevin Zraly was beginning to educate America on the world of wine. The restaurant opened in 1990 by restaurateur Drew Nieporent and actor Robert DeNiro. The Bacchus label was created by David Gordon, one of New York’s first recognized sommeliers, and the person responsible for the Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning wine list at Manhattan’s famed Tribeca Grill restaurant.
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