Prosecco / Prosecco di Conegliano
Pronunciation: Proh-SAY-koh / Proh-SAY-koh dee Koh-nay-YAH-nohWhere it's Grown:Prosecco is an Italian grape that makes lovely sparkling wine. The main area of production is in the Northeast Italian region of Veneto (VAY-nuh-toh) which is of course most famous for Venice. It is grown over a wide area but the best wines are from the Valdobbiadene sub-district. Those wines are made from the clone that carries the name Conegliano.
Wines made from this grape are tradionally sparkling, and lightly sweet. The method used to make these wines sparkling is called Cuve Close or Closed Tank and is a little different than Champagne Method. In this method a traditional fermentation happens right after harvest to make wine from the grapes. Then a second fermentation is orchestrated in a sealed tank by adding a little sugar, yeast, and "yeast vitamins" to the wine. The sugar is eaten by the yeast which produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. This gas is trapped inside the wine due to the sealed tank and makes the wine carbonated; bubbly. The wine is then kept under pressure while it is filtered to remove the yeast and other sediments, and then bottled.
What to expect: You should expect to find these wine with a cork and cage closure but I have seen some off-beat wines with a crown cap, think glass coke bottles. Either way the results are the same, fresh sparkling wine. The inherent ffruitiness of Prosecco is its charm. The main fruits will center around peach and apricot and will usually include apple and pear.
