By Joseph Temple

You might have noticed over the past couple of years that more and more people are drinking bubbly Prosecco!  Whether as an aperitif or part of a Bellini cocktail, this crisp, refreshing and cost-friendly sparkling wine has taken the world by storm, outselling Champagne for the first time in 2013 with 307 million bottles!  In fact, Americans imported approximately 2.3 million cases in one year alone–up dramatically from just 500 cases less than a few decades ago.

So for this week’s entry, let’s have a closer look at this delightful Italian wine:

By TUBS [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

1. DOC & DOCG Prosecco is produced in the northeastern regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia & Veneto.

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2. The two towns known for Prosecco – Valdobbiadene & Conegliano – are both sheltered by the Alps, making the area near and between them ideal for growing Prosecco grapes.

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By Jeff Kubina [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

3. Unlike Champagne’s secondary fermentation which takes place in the bottle, Prosecco is fermented in stainless steel tanks, which helps to make it more affordable.

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By James Cridland (Flickr: Champagne on ice) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

4. Prosecco comes in both lightly sparkling or frizzante & fully sparkling or spumante.

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By Jessica Spengler (Flickr: Prosecco with raspberries) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

5. Prosecco is known for its lower alcohol content (usually 11-12%) and its fruity aromas/flavors that can include apple, peach and apricot.

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By the_moment (Flickr: prosecco) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 6. By 2008, nearly 60% of all Prosecco was produced outside its traditional regions in northeastern Italy.

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By paul Barker Hemings from seregno, 85 (P6130647) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

7. That’s because Prosecco was determined by the grape variety and not the place of origin, allowing other countries the right to use the name.

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By Sandstein (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

8. This worried Italian vintners, who were very concerned that the Prosecco brand was being exploited just as it was starting to take off internationally.

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By John W. Schulze from Tejas (Prosecco vineyards) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

9. So in 2009, the Italian government declared that in order for a wine to be labelled Prosecco, it would have to be produced in a designated region.  Because of this decision, the name of the grape was changed from Prosecco to Glera.

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By Agne27 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

10. When buying a bottle, check the label closely.  The absolute best Prosecco is made near the hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene and will be labelled DOCG (denominazione di origine garantita). Bottles with a DOC on the label mean that they were probably made on the surrounding flats.

Sources:

Cortese, Amy (2008, Dec 26). Italian Makers of Prosecco Seek Recognition. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Ewing-Mulligan, Mary and McCarthy, Ed. Italian Wine for Dummies. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011.
Faulkner, Jane (2012, Oct 1). Why prosecco is charming the world. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au
Kapadia, Milanee (2014, Nov 24). Prosecco tops Champagne in bubbly sales. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com
Kinssies, Richard (2002, Jul 9). On Wine: Proseccos sparkle on their own terms. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved from http://seattlepi.com
McCoy, Elin (2015, Feb 25). How to Find Prosecco That Isn’t Terrible. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com
Nowak, Barabara and Wichman, Beverly. The Everything Wine Book: From Chardonnay to Zinfandel, All You Need to Make the Perfect Choice. Avon: Adams Media, 2005.

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Question: Thanks Sid for the useful information on French wine appellation “protegee”. Would you kindly please update as well on Italian wine classifications?

Answer: The latest stats at the end of 2014 shows 523 quality wines recognized as follows:

DOCG – 73 with Controlled Designation of Origin Guaranteed  These are the highest produced in specific geographic wine regions already classified under DOC for at least 5 years.

DOC – 332 with Controlled Designation of Origin. This certifies that the wine has been produced from grapes harvested from a specific delimited wine area in accordance with specific production protocol.

IGT – 118 for wines with Protected Geographical Indication. These are for quality table wines from wider wine regions with a less restrictive protocol. Note it is also interesting that Italy presently also has 269 food products with recognition:

DOP (PDO in English) – 161 Protected Designation of Origin. Produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised
know-how.

IGP (PGI in English)   –  106 Protected Geographical Indication. Closely linked to the geographical area with at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation taking place there.

STG (TSG in English) –  2 Traditional Specialities Guarantee. Traditional character. There is the European brand of the green leaf BIO symbol for Organic agro-food products for foods and since 2010 for wines.

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Impressed by the increasing quality of sparkling wines available from around the globe. Champagne still remains the benchmark but lots of delightful different styles out there to try. One region the Gaspereau Valley in Nova Scotia Canada and one producer Benjamin Bridge (www.benjaminbridge.com/sparklings) have made amazing strides in the last decade.  I have been an enthusiastic supporter of them since my visit there on August 22, 2011 when I was blown away with this project and thought I would now alert you. I appreciated the passion, optimism and individual attention to cuvees shown by Winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslauriers and his team on that occasion. Couldn’t believe that such low Brix (18+), high acidity (14+), and low pH (around 3) aged some time on the lees would actually work so successfully. Tried the recently disgorged samples from the 2004 vintage which were eye openers. Blanc de Blancs 100% Chardonnay (only 200 bottles) with no malo & no dosage showed crisp citrusy verve and “lemon juice at the beginning but you have to wait for it” potential and now really coming into its own. 100% Blanc de Noirs with full malo was more open yeasty brioche from the lees and showing creamy softness warranting their optimism. Even a 2008 blend of 65 Chardonnay & 35 Pinot Noir showed the benefits of very late harvesting producing clean expanding mouth coating fruit.

Last week in Vancouver provided an update with the visiting Jean-Benoit showing his new releases including fun aromatic coastal Tidal Bay appellation 2014 whites and floral fresh big seller Nova 7 with the ever changing 11-12 grape varieties. The star among the current sparklers was his 2008 Brut Reserve (61% Chardonnay & 39% Pinot Noir disgorged June 2014) the favourite of now deceased (2013) oenologist consultant Raphael Brisbois (ex Piper-Heidsieck) showing incredible richness combined with freshness. There was structure, full volume and aromatic honey intensity from low yields & phenolic ripeness being the key. Already great but can age and still develop further nuances of complexity.  World class bubbles! Check it out.

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By Joseph Temple

***WARNING – SPOILER ALERT***

Back in the carefree 90s, if you were a fan of metal, then you definitely listened to Tool.  Formed in 1990, the band’s thundering guitar riffs combined with an avant-garde stage presence made its members into rock royalty with hit songs such as “Sober,” “Stinkfist” and “Schism.” So when I saw that a documentary had been produced about Tool’s eccentric front man, Maynard James Keenan and his second career as an amateur winemaker in northern Arizona, the subject matter definitely peaked my curiosity.

The 2010 film Blood Into Wine, directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke sets out to show that Keenan is definitely not your typical celebrity vintner.  Today with everyone from Brangelina to Drew Barrymore buying up lavish vineyards, it has almost become a cliché in Hollywood to own one.  But Tool’s lead singer is clearly different from the rest in that he is no prima donna.  On the contrary, throughout the film, he is very eager to get down on his knees and plant grape vines in the blistering sun.  After all, as his business partner Eric Glomski tells us, the wine business is 90% labor.

Setting up Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards in the town of Jerome, Arizona, it’s easy to see that Keenan and Glomski are both passionate about being in what they describe as the “frontier of viticulture.”  While many associate the Grand Canyon State with cactus trees and cement that you could fry an egg on, much to my surprise, the situation north of Phoenix is very different.  In fact, during one wine tasting, Keenan tells us that the Verde Valley gets snow in the winter and that he has more problems dealing with the cold frost than he does with the summer heat.

Although a good portion of the film is dedicated to Tool’s front man and trying to figure out what got him so interested in wine, the real star of this film is Glomski. Being an ardent ecologist, he has a gift for telling great stories like how drinking wine furthered his sense of smell and comparing the fermentation process to making tea. Without question, his interviews are what takes the movie to the next level, making it much more than a celebrity-becomes-winemaker narrative.

However, during a tour to promote their latest vintage, we see that the biggest asset for Caduceus Cellars is clearly the star power of its co-owner.  Filming those waiting in line to get their bottles autographed, there appears to be no shortage of Gothic apparel and tattoos bearing the Tool name and logo–not the type of folks you usually associate with wine culture. Obviously with fans more excited to see their rock hero rather than his wine, Glomski jokingly refers to himself as “the guy sitting next to Maynard” during one autograph session at a local grocery store.

But that is what makes Blood Into Wine such a great documentary.  Maynard Keenan’s celebrity status acts as the hook to get people who may have little to no interest in wine to understand more about the subject.  During the film, Keenan willingly shares the spotlight, allowing us to hear from numerous Arizona winemakers about their trials and tribulations in getting the state noticed on the wine map.  And as the viewer gets to see the entire process from the first harvest to when James Suckling of the Wine Spectator judges the final product, you’ll learn a lot more about the industry through this film than a Wine for Dummies DVD.

With a hip soundtrack, colorful characters, excellent camera work and some surprise cameos from Patton Oswalt, Milla Jovovich and Bob Odenkirk, Blood Into Wine serves a great vehicle for getting a crossover audience interested in wine appreciation.

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Question: I just read a news article about cheap California wines containing arsenic levels that are 500% above what’s considered safe.  Should I be worried about buying a bottle that’s less than $10?  Please let me know what you think?

Answer: Yes I was intrigued by this article and video too that can be viewed here referring to the complaint filed against 26 California wineries in LA Superior Court seeking class-action status because of alleged high levels of arsenic in 83 of the 1306 bottles of wine tested. The report indicates that “nearly all the wines sell for between $5-$10 …and if you’re spending $20 on a bottle of wine you’re not going to have concerns most likely.” However despite the odds I still feel there are concerns at any price level about what is actually in that bottle of wine and therefore I support some form of simple ingredient labeling to be adopted by the wine industry itself to help the wine consumer decide. Read a good detailed article on this subject by John Tilson titled “Caution! What’s In Your Wine?”. They support the innovations in ingredient labeling by Ridge Vineyards & Bonny Doon Vineyards. Caveat emptor “let the buyer beware” still applies.

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