Prosecco winegrowing/production Flashcards
(21 cards)
Prosecco DOC style, quality, price
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Style: Prosecco DOC
- Light to medium (-) intensity
- Apple and pear aromas
- Light body
- Medium to medium (+) acidity
- Low or medium alcohol
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Sweetness:
- From Brut to Demi-Sec
- Extra Dry most common style
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Sparkling Level:
- Fully sparkling (spumante)
- Lower pressure (frizzante)
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Quality:
- Mainly acceptable to good quality
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Price:
- Mainly mid-priced
- Some inexpensive examples in supermarkets
Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG style, quality, price
medium intensity
greater definition and range of primary fruit (pear, apple, peach).
Quality: CV DOCG: good to very good quality
Price: DOCG wines:mainly mid-priced, with a few wines at premium prices.
Prosecco DOC: Factors affecting temperature and humidity
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Climate:
- Warm and moderately continental
- Moderate rainfall
- Flat plain affected by moist air and fog from the rivers of the region
- Increases the number of sprays needed to combat disease
CV DOCG Factors affecting temperature / sunlightDOCGs:
hillier areas: cooling influences from altitude + diurnals
longer, slower ripening
wines from the DOCG higher acidity and more intense fruit flavours
Prosecco DOC Soils + rainfall
large region = vary considerably
in general more fertile on the plain = higher yields and lighter intensity wines
moderate rainfall
Prosecco DOC pests diseases:
moderate rainfall
flat plain affected by moist air and fog from the rivers of the region
increasing the number of sprays needed to combat disease
Glera characteristics
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Growth Characteristics:
- Vigorous
- Semi-aromatic
- Capable of very high yields
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Susceptibilities:
- Millerandage
- Powdery and downy mildew
- Drought in summer
- Grapevine yellows
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Training and Trellising:
- First two buds do not bear much fruit – requires long pruning
- Typically trained on vertically trellised systems with 8–12 buds
- Low to medium planting densities (around 3,000 plants per hectare) are normal due to the variety’s vigour
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Yields:
- Permitted yields are high
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Varieties and Blending:
- Research identified three varieties called Prosecco – in practice, these are normally blended
- Many wines are 100% Glera
- Up to 15% other local or certain international varieties are permitted
Prosecco: Sylvoz
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High Cordon System:
- Shoots hang downwards
- Well suited to high vigour sites, such as the fertile, flatter land of Prosecco DOC
- Used where the aim is high yields
- Sometimes used in Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG
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Cost and Efficiency Benefits:
- Inexpensive to create initially
- Minimises winter pruning
- Suitable for machine harvesting
- Cordon height provides some protection from frost
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Disadvantages:
- May encourage over cropping
- Requires careful monitoring and trimming of the canopy to:
- Avoid excessive shading
- Ensure even distribution of clusters
Prosecco Double-arched cane
Arching Cane Pruning (used for Glera):
• Form of replacement cane pruning; canes bent into arches
• Promotes even growth, improves fruitfulness of Glera
• Enhances canopy ventilation, reducing fungal disease risk
• Common on hillside sites in Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG
• Aimed at achieving high fruit quality
Disadvantages:
• Labor-intensive: each branch must be individually tied
• Requires repeated shoot thinning to maintain open canopy
Double arched cane Prosecco DOCG
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Form of Replacement Cane Pruning:
- Canes are bent into arches
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Advantages:
- Improves evenness of growth and fruitfulness of Glera
- Increases ventilation in the canopy
- Reduces incidence of fungal diseases
- Very common on hillside sites of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG
- Main aim is high fruit quality
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Disadvantages:
- Individual branches must be tied in on every plant – adds to cost
- Requires repeated shoot thinning to maintain an open canopy – adds to cost
Prosecco Guyot
used on flatter land
after winter pruning possible to work with machines, reducing cost
consideration for Glera regarding yields, planting:
vigorous
high yielding
first two buds do not bear much fruit = has to be trained long
typically on vertically trellised systems with 8–12 buds
Low to medium planting densities (3,000 plants per hectare) normal due to the vigour of the variety
Vineyard Management in Prosecco DOC
work in the vineyard + harvesting on flat be done by machine
vineyards large = considerable economies of scale
High yields of grapes on plains = wines of lower concentration
mechanical harvest norm, saving on cost
Vineyard Management, site, harvest in Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG
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Top Sites:
- S-facing hillsides = best wines
- More concentration in final wine
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Site Traits:
- ↓ fertility, poorer soils, better drainage
- ↑ day/night temp diff = slower growth, longer ripening, ↑ flavour dev, ↑ acidity
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Yields/Quality:
- ↓ but still generous yields = ↑ flavour conc
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Terracing:
- Steepest DOCG sites terraced w/ ciglione (grassy banks)
- Require upkeep = ↑ cost
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Harvesting:
- Steep sites = handwork = ↑ cost
- Producers can pick by hand (↑ cost) or machine
- Cartizze, Rive, sui lieviti = must hand-pick
Managing hazards, managing pests and diseases Prosecco DOC:
climate: warm and moderately continental
moderate rainfall
flat plain affected by moist air and fog from the rivers of the region
increasing the number of sprays needed to combat disease
Prosecco winemaking:
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Pressing:
- Hand-picked, choose to:
- Press whole bunches (preserves primary fruit)
- Destem and press
- Hand-picked, choose to:
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Base Wine Fermentation:
- 15-20 days at 18°C (64°F) to preserve fruit
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Malolactic Conversion:
- Blocked to retain acidity, preserve fruit
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Secondary Fermentation:
- In tank, 1 month at 12-15°C
- Few weeks on lees, then chilled, filtered, bottled
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Sweetness Adjustment:
- Traditionally no dosage
- Sugar calculated at tirage for CO2 & final sweetness (Brut, Extra Dry, Dry)
- Since 2014, can adjust sweetness after lees racking
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Quality Practices (Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG):
- Slow second ferment (lower temp)
- Age on lees for complexity
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Charmat Lungo:
- 9+ months on lees, agitated with insert
- Sold in bottle
- Vintage labelled: 85% of that vintage
Prosecco Col Fondo/sui lieviti
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Style:
- Traditional, lightly cloudy, dry wines
- Frizzante style
- Must include “rifermentazione in bottiglia” on bottle
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Second Fermentation:
- In bottle, undisgorged
- Bone dry, sediment present
- Crown cap finish
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Aging:
- Can be aged for a short time
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Production:
- Tiny production, fashionable in wine bars & specialist retailers
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Name:
- Traditional: Col Fondo
- Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG: now called sui lieviti (on the lees)
Prosecco DOC labelling + area
former IGTs devoted to Prosecco
cover 9 entire provinces in regions Veneto and Friul
from Trieste to Vicenza
plantings now at 24,000 ha
includes mountains and hills but most grown on the plain
indications “Treviso” or “Trieste” may be added Prosecco DOC if grapes grown and wine made within these two areas
volume of production: Treviso much more important
Conegliano Valdobbiadene – Prosecco DOCG - topography, area, altitude, labelling terms
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Region:
- Hilly, historic area btw Conegliano & Valdobbiadene (Veneto)
- 8,100 ha
- 2009: promoted from DOC → DOCG
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Vineyards:
- Mostly 200–320m elevation
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Name:
- DOCG: Conegliano Valdobbiadene – Prosecco
- Producers must use “Conegliano” and/or “Valdobbiadene”
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Labelling (Spumante):
- ‘Superiore’ may be added
- ‘Prosecco’ may be omitted
- ‘Superiore’ = part of name, no winemaking difference (e.g. no ↑ alcohol req)
Asolo Prosecco DOCG - area, labelling terms
separate DOCG
more than 2,000 ha
hilly area south of Valdobbiadene
in spumante category, the term ‘Superiore’ may be added
Prosecco: sweetness, spumante/frizzante, handpicking, vintage on label?
