We Spend £9million a Week on Prosecco

Prosecco remains by far the UK’s most popular sparkling wine and we spend £9million a week on this

In the week before Christmas, we’ll spend double what we would usually do on Prosecco, according to a Sainsbury’s poll.

Prosecco is easy to drink, it is light and fresh and often has flavours of yellow apple, pear, white peach, and apricots. It should be drunk young and most within three years, although high-quality Prosecco can be aged for up to seven years. Prosecco is also the main ingredient of the Bellini cocktail.

Prosecco comes from Italy, the sparkling wine is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, traditionally mainly around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills north of Treviso.

Prosecco can have a DOC rating on the label, this guarantees only its correct geographical origin and not the quality. A DOCG was approved in 2009, this is much smaller than the DOC, comprising of 15 communes of vineyards, with vines growing in limestone-rich hillsides. The idea that it’s higher quality comes from the fact that, thanks to those steep hillsides, everything is done by hand. The DOC and DOCG are in Veneto and Friuli.

The hill of Cartizze is a 1,000-foot-high vineyard of 107 hectares (260 acres) of vines, owned by 140 growers. The Prosecco from its grapes, of which comparatively little is produced, is widely considered to be of the highest quality. The sparkling wine produced from Cartizze has recently been named by producers as Superiore di Cartizze, without mentioning Prosecco on the front label to further emphasize its territory.