Italian Sparkling Wine

Mention Italian sparkling wine, and most people’s thoughts turn to that classic party quaffer, Prosecco. But Prosecco is one thing… Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene is quite another. The latter is a DOCG (Prosecco is a mere DOC), meaning the rules governing its production are more rigorous (notably via lower yields) and the wines come from a smaller, hillier section of Veneto, where the soils and altitude give rise to more freshness and delicacy. While Prosecco is made via the Charmat method, with the all-important, fizz-inducing secondary fermentation happening in tank, other Italian sparkling wines use Champagne’s ‘traditional’ method, whereby this process occurs in the bottle. Franciacorta is one such region, while the Pinot Noir-Chardonnay, vintage-only sparkling wines of the Alta Langa DOCG, between Piedmont and Liguria, are fast gaining in reputation.