What does Prosecco Rosé taste like?

One of the bubbling over with excitement releases of 2020 was for sure the long awaited arrival of Prosecco Rosé. This globally loved sparkling wine, Prosecco, was now to bless us with a touch of pink and much excitement continues in the industry and for sure from the start of 2021 when they become available for consumer to purchase.

“We are big lovers of Prosecco here in the UK, I believe the figure is around one third of what this magical region of Italy produces is shipped and consumed here. From those cheap deal promotions in supermarkets to those wishing to explore the more complex flavours from the finer regions, Prosecco caters for all budgets and taste requirements. If you love bubbly, fruity and fresh sparkling wines then you will love Prosecco.”

 

Prosecco is split by regions / classifications which are all quite evident on the bottles you can purchase. DOC is the biggest of the regions and produces approximately 500 million bottles annually, they are usually what you will find in supermarkets and under offer, mass production on easy to manage flat vineyards though still with very pleasing qualities. A level above is the Prosecco Superiore DOCG  (Conegliano Valdobbiadene) that will make up around 90 million bottles annually and be of a higher quality level thanks to the terroir which is mostly picturesque steep vineyards, grapes all picked by hand. With this region and with a further 17.5 million bottles sits the DOCG Asolo (and Montello) region. If you want to be smart in your Prosecco choices and impress your guests / friends, then the little known Cartizze region (107 acres within the DOCG) is the crème de la crème of Prosecco and produces, what many wine professionals will say, the best examples of Prosecco.

Check the neck of Prosecco bottles which will have either a blue sticky label (DOC) or a brown/gold label (Superiore DOCG).

Up until now there has not been any rosé Prosecco, though many will mistake Italian Spumante rosé wines as ‘Prosecco Rosé‘. There officially hasn’t been any Prosecco rosé to enjoy as per the regional control of what grapes are allowed to be used in the production / blend of Prosecco:

• White grapes only with a minimum of 85% Glera: Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Verdiso, Perera and Bianchetta

If we only have white grapes then we can only make white wine as there is no red (black) grape to get the pigment colouring from and no added red wine is permitted to be included in the blending of Prosecco.

 

2019 Rosé Millesimato (Prosecco Rosé):

A long project in the pipeline with much debate and opinion, plus importantly a respect for consumer preferences and the increasing appreciation of rosé style wines from stills to Champagne – The birth of Prosecco rosé was eventually passed exclusively for the DOC Prosecco region. The initial production is said to be around 20 million bottles though this is highly likely to increase as global knowledge of and then demand, expands. Pinot Noir is the magical grape that has been given permission to enter Prosecco bottles (10-15%).

What does Prosecco Rosé taste like?

If you are familiar with Prosecco then you will not be moving too far away from these aroma and tasting experiences. You will get an additional creamy red fruit expression on the nose and certainly in the mouth – This will vary greatly from producer to producer depending on their initial Glera blend and the amount of Pinot Noir added.

• Aromas: Green pear, yellow apples, honey suckle, white floral, raspberry, creamy strawberry
• Flavours: Green pear, light green / yellow / red apples, white / yellow floral, honey, raspberry, cream strawberry, blackberry, candy sweets

I have now been able to taste a good selection of Prosecco rosé to include Villa Sandi, Bottega, Le Rughe, Bisol and La Gioiosa. They are all very similar in character, very elegant and smooth, crisp and red fruits still yet plenty of Glera character. I get an almost creamy taste sensation, no added and unwanted acidity and you for sure can taste the difference when alongside the standard Prosecco label equivalent to each.

Bottega Millesimato 2019 Prosecco Rosé:

Tasting notes: “Red apple, apricot, peach, raspberry, candy red sweets, touch of cream in aromas. Dry initially yet very smooth – creamy red berry fruits, touch of the original Prosecco Glera characters to include pear drops. Very fine and elegant wine.”

 

Villa Sandi il Fresco Millesimato 2019 Prosecco Rosé:

Tasting notes: “Delicate, smooth, creamy red berry fruits, yellow apple and peach on the nose. Flavours are pink in character with freshly squeezed red apples, freeze dried raspberry, light green pear, creamy strawberry and yet a delicate crispness of almost sea breeze expressed.“