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Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the show.

If I ask you to imagine Italy, what pops up in your mind first, grand architecture, breathtaking landscape, gorgeous people, or exquisite cuisine?

And now imagine you're appreciating the ancient architecture, chatting with people, and enjoying the food, still something is missing, it is that special bubbly drink that is quintessentially Italian, Prosecco.

In this four-episode series, financed by the Prosecco DOC Consortium, according to EU regulation, we are going to embark on a fascinating journey into the world of Prosecco.

跟着酒馆一起来趟意大利文化之旅, 打开意大利国民起泡酒Prosecco的世界.

So first things first, what is Prosecco to Italians？

-To me, Prosecco is all about music, parties, and friends.

-Prosecco symbolize joy, victory, and celebration.

-For me, Prosecco means weekends and holidays.

-Prosecco is a relaxing moment in my garden at the end of the day.

To understand this bestselling sparkling wine in the world, we’re honored to have a special guest in our studio today.

Miss Tanya Barattin from the Prosecco DOC Consortium to share with us all about this beautiful and quintessentially Italian wine Prosecco. Welcome to the show, Tanya.

Hello, thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here with you today.

Great.

I know that you work with Prosecco from an expert’s point of view, but for our listeners a lot of them probably don't really know that much about Proseccos, some of them probably have never heard of Prosecco, so first things first, what is Prosecco？

Yeah, we can say that Prosecco is the worldwide leading Italian sparkling wine, a representation of Italian excellence, coming from a specific territory located in Northeast side of Italy, switching between two beautiful regions which are Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Italians had a long history of making Prosecco.

Yes.

So when was Prosecco first made going back in history?

If we look to the nowadays areas of production which is represented by these nine provinces between these two beautiful regions in Northeast of Italy, we found first wine production since the Roman Empire, so very long time ago.

Wow.

But the first, we can say oral mention about wine sounding Prosecco goes back to the 1382, and were in the most Northeast side of the region in Trieste province. That time some historical people, wine studying, Plinio, a Naturalis historia study of Plinio il Vecchio found this wine called ‘Pucino’, and they think that was the ancient name of Prosecco.

That was the original.

Yes. First we can say oral mention, because for the first written mention, we have to go back to the 1745, and we moved to the most West side of the area of production near Vicenza;

and there was a poet, Aureliano Acanti wrote about Prosecco in a very shining way in the poem “Il Roccolo”.

There are many vineyards in that region, right？Many people are actually involved in the Prosecco…

Yes, exactly, especially in Treviso province because if we talk about when we started to produce Prosecco in a sparkling version, like we know it nowadays, we have to go back to the 1850, in Treviso, in the beautiful Conegliano, where was found the most historical Italian oenology school, it was the 1876 more or less, for the first time was applied to second fermentation, so the bubbling process to Glera grapes in order to make Prosecco.

I see.

But if we look to nowadays, Prosecco is made by a very big family because especially the DOC is represented by more than 12,000 grape lords, so the one that the cultivated grapes; 1,200 wine makers, the one that takes care to the base wine, production; and 360 sparkling houses, so the one that takes care of the bubbling, so the second fermentation and bottling.

I see what you mean by a big family. I know you export a lot of Prosecco to all of the world, but how popular is Prosecco in Italy , do people love drinking it in Italy？

Yes. Absolutely.

If you consider that Prosecco is the most produced and consumed sparkling wine in the world, so Italy and forensic markets, last year, so 2021 we produced 627.5 million of bottles, 71 of which were also Prosecco DOC Rose, the new version that we just launched on the market in October 22.

Hmm.

Hence, considering the yearly production, more than the 79% goes abroad.

Even for me, someone who is just an outsider and amateur wine lover, I can really see Prosecco taking off. especially in recent years, wherever I go in the world, I can see people drinking Prosecco.

Yes.

What do you think makes Prosecco so special？Why is it so well liked？

Because Prosecco, we can say it's as a symbol of the Italian lifestyle, a symbol of the Italian way of living.

In the years, it's become a symbol of sharing, of staying together, of conviviality, because of its characteristics which are made by this very high freshness, this pleasant, floral and fruity aromas, easy to recognize us from people not in the wine business, good balance in sugar and acidity, moderate alcohol percentage that make it easy to go with a second or third glass of Prosecco.

It's so fresh and it's very versatile drink.

Yes, very easy to pair with different foods, thanks also to the different sugar level from the more drier version to the maybe more sweet version, easy also to combine in order to create new cocktails.

It’s very versatile, not only for celebration, parties, but it's like an everyday wine to share with the people you love.

Exactly, I'll be happily drinking Prosecco every dinner, every afternoon.

Alright, and not to mention it’s also very good value for money.

Absolutely, because you have a high quality wine because you're talking about DOC and DOCG wines but with a very affordable price.

Actually you mentioned DOC and DOCG, that's the next topic we can get into. You're from the Consortium that's called the Prosecco DOC Consortium. So could you tell us a little bit about your Consortium？When was it founded？And what are the aims of this Consortium?

So first of all, DOC and DOCG, so DOC means Controlled Designation of Origin, and DOCG means Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin.

And the name of the appellation comes from the name of the territory. So Prosecco is a DOC thanks to the small village Prosecco, which is located in Trieste.

So Prosecco is a village.

Yes, exactly. There's always a link with a specific territory, the only one where you can produce is wine, because there must be a very stronger interaction between the climates, the soil, the wine making tradition for obtaining this quality appellation.

Speaking as a complete beginner, outsider, Prosecco is linked with the specific village and origin, is it the same idea as Champagne can only be produced in Champagne area？

Exactly.

Ah, I see.

The family of Prosecco is made by the DOC Prosecco which is represented by us. Our Prosecco is, we can say, the big brother because we are the one of the two regions, nine provinces and of the 627 million of bottles.

Massive.

But inside only the province of Treviso, also located to other appellation, the DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo which are more in a hillside area; and as Consortium, we represent all the produce of the DOC appellation; and our produce association was founded in November 2009.

So few months after that the DOC Prosecco was born, so was July 2009.

Our aim is to protect appellation against the misuse of the mark Prosecco or against the fake Prosecco. We take care of the general management of the appellation and the promotional activities worldwide.

You mentioned that, I think that's very important, especially when it's so closely linked with the specific region, you want to make sure everything is authentic, up to standard. That's why you need to go against all these other fake claims.

Absolutely. Yes. Also because the producer must really respect a very strictly scenario of production. So there are some rules from the vineyard or the great varieties that you can use the wine processing, the labeling and commercialization, so every step is very carefully controlled; and also the final wine before became Prosecco must be checked from a chemical physical point of view.

And there's also wine tasting commission checking the color, the taste, and the nose. So only the one that are approved among this procedure can become a real authentic DOC or DOCG Prosecco.

I see. So basically DOC or DOCG these are your quality guarantee.

Absolutely, yes.

If you buy Prosecco, you have to look for these two. I see, learning so much already.

And I also know that… although that the consortium is headquartered in Treviso, Italy, but it also has overseas branches, I've heard Casa Prosecco, actually we're going to interview them, you have Casa Prosecco in China as well.

Yes. Exactly. Yeah, so as I told you, we export more than 79% of our yearly production. So the forensic markets are very important; for this reason, in our top three export countries like UK, United States and Germany, we founded this Casa Prosecco which is our agency representing us in that specific market.

I see.

But for China, we had this special project to also be present with a specific Casa Prosecco because we think there is a lot of potential over there.

And to do it in the best way, you must be there in order to keep on going into promotional activity…

To know the local market.

Yes, exactly.

I definitely see a lot of potential Prosecco drinkers in China.

Thank you, hope so.

I, myself, love Prosecco and I would happily recommend it to everyone who's listening, but I would still like to get to know a little bit about this region that produces Prosecco.

Obviously, when you talk about wine, you think about climate, you think about the territory itself, the soil, but I'm also interested in knowing what is the region like. How would you describe that region? Not just from a wine expert point of view, but just as someone who is living there?

So as Prosecco DOC, we must say that we really found it also our identity with a strong relationship, with the territorie’s history and culture and tradition.

It’s territory… really rich into production of wine and food. It's rich in art, in culture. We have a lot of beautiful palatial style villas, castles, abbeys, churches, we have like 11 UNESCO heritage sites going from the beautiful mountains region on North of the Dolomites to the Adriatic Sea on the South, a beautiful city of arts and natural parks, so it's a land I really recommend you to come and visit us once in your life.

Yeah. I've been to Italy multiple times and obviously before the pandemic, but I don't think I've ever really been traveling around that region that much, but it sounds amazing, sounds it's got everything, it's got beautiful climate, it's got beautiful landscape, it's got food, wine, art, and also vineyards.

It has. Of course, also, Prosecco is like a part of the culture, of our region because it's like the everyday wine, it’s really part of our everyday routine.

Yeah, like a friend, like an everyday friend.

Great, you must have some amazing wine tours…

Yes.

Just taking people around, enjoy the view and the culture and also Prosecco.

Yes, we have, and you really can choose the one more suitable depending on what you're looking for. So if it's about art or if it's about also sport or if you want to focus more on the Gastronomic.

So different themes, I see. Themed wine tours, sounds amazing.

Just tell us what you want to see, and we will provide.

Wow, that just sounds so intriguing, can't wait to go. But I still have to ask one more, I think this is more on behalf of myself but also the listeners.

When people don't really know that much about wine, they think of sparkling wine, obviously many people know champagne. So if you have to compare champagne and Prosecco, apart from the price difference, how would you compare these two？

Yes, we are very different. And for this reason, we are not in competition, we can say. Because both Prosecco and Champagne are quality wines, both are linked strongly with the country and a specific territory of the production.

Territory.

But for make it very easy, Prosecco is made by Glera grapes which is indigenous variety coming exactly from the land of Prosecco. It's a semi-aromatic grape variety which is produced with a method very short, 30 days for the Prosecco DOC and 60 days for the Prosecco DOCG Rose, this in order to protect the primary aromas which keep the freshness and these floral, fruity, elegant notes that we like in Prosecco.

Champagne is made with more international variety like Chardonnay and Pinot. And second fermentation is in bottle and takes years. So the longer it is, the better it is, quite opposite to the Prosecco.

And also, the aromas you find in champagne are more related to the yeast, like butter, like bread. So more of evolution.

Perhaps for people, especially the beginners in wine appreciation, Prosecco is just so much easier to get into, to appreciate. Perhaps with champagne, you don't really get into it that easily with complexity and what you mentioned, yeast, it's not something that everyone can get on board with immediately.

Yes, exactly. It's more immediate, it's more immediate, maybe it's… because it's the entry for the people that want also to approach wine.

Exactly.

Because it's very easy to drink. Thanks also to the moderate alcohol percentage, it's easy to recognize for these flowery and fruity aromas like sweet apple, like acacia, like wisteria flowers and good acidity and sugar balance.

And very important is that you have to drink it very fast. So like one year and a half after harvest, so not keep it in the fridge or in the storage and open it after 5 years because you will not drink it any more.

You drink it fresh.

They will lose all the freshness and this flora and fruity typical aroma that the real authentic Prosecco must preserve.

Yeah. I've certainly learned so much from you both about the business and also about Prosecco, the wine production, the region; but so far I have been talking to Tanya, the wine expert, but let's finish off with just talking to you as a person.

Yes.

You, yourself, I'm sure you drink Prosecco as well. How do you like to enjoy Prosecco? What is the scenario? The best scenario, for example, do you drink it on your own, with colleagues, with friends, or with family?

Yes, I must say I like to drink it after work, just sitting in the bar in the Osteria with my friends or my colleagues and just to have fun together in a very easy and conviviality moment. This is my perfect moment to drink for Prosecco.

Okay, so to finish our talk, can I ask you to use one sentence to make a comment on Prosecco?

Mhm. As I come from the region of Prosecco, and I'm also used to make harvest. So for me, really Prosecco is like the everyday wine, it's part of my culture, it's part of my everyday routine, and it's something that I want to share with my friends, my family and the people I love.

That is beautiful. Thank you, Tanya, and thank you for sharing with us all these fascinating facts about Prosecco.

Thank you, Lulu, and thank you for all of you, listen to us today; and I wait for you in the Prosecco DOC dreamland.

Thank you.

So after our talk with Tanya, are you getting excited about Prosecco and the land that produces it?

In the next episode of the series, we’ll travel via the silk road from Italy to China to chat with our guests from Casa Prosecco about their stories.