Prosecco rosé a step closer as DOC producers vote to allow red wine in blend
Rosé Prosecco just took a step closer to fruition after DOC producers voted in favour to allow red wine into the blend.
Board members of the Prosecco DOC Consorzio in Treviso took the measure which will allow producers to mix the signature Prosecco grape Glera with Pinot Noir to create Prosecco rosé within the DOC.
Currently Prosecco DOC wines can only be made using a maximum of 15% Pinot Noir, but the grape must only be used to make white wine.
It is a development that will marry two of the world’s key wine trends - Prosecco and rosé - particularly in the key market of the UK, where sales of the Italian sparkling wine have soared in recent years.
The concept of making Prosecco rosé has been on the back burner for a number of years, but has now received a boost largely due to the increasing demand for the wine.
"Today is the right time to produce Prosecco rosé,’ said Stefano Zanette, president of Prosecco DOC. ‘This is not a ploy. Pinot Noir is a noble grape and the new category will be reserved for the best quality “spumante” versions, not the fizzy “frizzante” ones,’ he told Decanter.com. He said that it was all part of a strategy to increase quality.
“Rosé is a natural direction for Prosecco and the increasing recognition of its quality,” said Gianluca Bisol, head of the eponymous producer. “The risk is that we should be careful to avoid more price pressure for Prosecco after two years of grape shortages.’
Given the global popularity of both Prosecco and rosé, the new category has enormous potential and is likely to become a significant proportion of total production. One producer, Giancarlo Moretti Polegato of Villa Sandi predicted that it could account for as much as a fifth of production,
“It will add value to the denomination,” he said. “We want to plant more Pinot Noir. It will become an advantage for our grape growers, too, helping to avoid monoculture in the vineyards with only Glera or Pinot Grigio.”
Around one million litres of Pinot Noir are currently produced as still white wine each year.
However, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the deveopment of a new category, including the former president of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG council, Franco Adami.
“I don’t see the opportunity since Prosecco rosé has no historical base,’ he said. ‘We risk confusing consumers. Do it anyway, but not with the name Prosecco.”
However, even if the new proposals do get the go-ahead, it may be some time before the first Prosecco rosé vintage hits the shelves.
“We are not completely confident in our ability to be able to change the DOC regulations before this harvest, but we will be ready for next year,’ said Stefano Zanette.
Last year 440 million bottles of Prosecco DOC were produced, plus 90 million labelled as Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG and 10 million as Asolo Prosecco DOCG. Three quarters of production is intended for export, of which a third is destined for the thirsty UK market.