REVIEW : EVENT - An Evening of Prosecco with Wine Events Scotland & Prosecco DOC
A GUIDE TO DRINKING PROSECCO
Recently I attended another one of the great Wine Events Scotland evenings at Le Di-Vin hosted by Diana Thomspon and this time it was an Evening with Prosecco and the Prosecco DOC UK Brand Ambassador Neil Phillips (AKA The Wine Tipster).
Diana, hosts many a fab wine tasting events here at Le Di-Vin and if you are looking to learn a little bit more or alot more about wine, consider popping along to one of these events. Tickets are usually around £20 and you get to sample some amazing wines and then tuck into delicious charcuterie platters at the end of the evening.
The format of the evenings are straight forward and very relaxed. Diana hands you a list of all the wines available to taste. There are five tables each with 2-5 wines on them, you grab a glass, pour yourself a sip or two, taste it, read the notes on the table and make your own notes (there is always a quiz at the end to win tickets to other wine events). You can taste as little or as much (well not a whole glass or two), to find out your favourites on the night and if you like a particular wine, you can go back to it at the end and pour yourself a wee bit more. Diana is always on hand to answer questions or give advise on wines.
An Evening with Prosecco with Wine Events Scotland
This evening we had Neil Phillips on hand to steer us through the Prosecco maze. Who knew there are so many Proseccos out there?! Neil Phillips is the UK Brand Ambassador to Prosecco DOC but also a wine expert, a presenter and horse-racing pundit and has the blog - The Wine Tipster!
Prosecco DOC is a consortium that brings together the various groups of producers, individual and associated growers, winemakers and producers of sparkling wines in order to ensure development and compliance laid down in the official Prosecco specification. In other words, much like Champagne which can only be called Champagne if it is from the region of Champagne in France, Prosecco can only be called Prosecco if it is made in the exclusive area of north east Italy between the Dolomites and the Adriatic Sea.
There are 2 regions, namely Veneto Friuli and Venezia Giulia that are made up of 9 provinces that produce Prosecco with Treviso, Belluno, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia and Trieste being the more prominent provinces for making Prosecco.
The UK is Prosecco’s largest market (yes, we love our glass of bubbles) with 2018 being a bumper year for the bubbly stuff with over 464 million bottles of Prosecco produced! Italy keeps a fair amount of these bottles for themselves, around 25% or 116 million bottles but 75% is exported across the globe with the vast majority ending up in here in Britain.
Like many wines, there are so many variations in Prosecco, but how many times have you asked for a glass of Prosecco not knowing the difference from one bottle to the next? I know that I am guilty of doing this - Prosecco is Prosecco. WRONG!
So lets chat Prosecco. Prosecco is a brilliant straw yellow wine with fine, persistent beads of bubbles (perlage) and aromas of white flowers, apple and pear. It is fresh and elegant with a moderate alcohol strength.
The main grape variety is the Glera grape but the grapes Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir can also be added to the mix to create Prosecco.
So whats the difference between Champagne and Prosecco?
It’s mostly to do with the secondary fermentation. For Prosecco this process takes place in large stainless steel tanks, whilst for champagne this occurs in the bottle. Prosecco has a minimum production time of 30 days whilst for champagne, it’s left to age - non-vintage a minimum of 18 months and vintage 3 years.
So how do you know your Prosecco is legit?
Prosecco will always have either 'DOC' or 'DOCG' printed on the neck label in order to prove its origin. 'DOC' stands for the Italian for 'Denomination of Controlled Origin', while 'DOCG' stands for the 'Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin'.
There are 3 different types of Prosecco - Spumante, Frizzante and Tranquillo.
Spumante - The most famous and widespread type has fine and persistent bubbles. Thanks to its sugar content, PDO Prosecco Spumante can be Brut, Extra Dry, Dry or Demi-sec.
Frizzante - It has light and less persistent bubbles.
Tranquillo - No bubbles.
This evening we tried Prosecco Spumante, mostly Brut and Extra Dry.
Astoria Prosecco DOC Galie Extra-Dry Treviso, Veneto Alivini - £12.95
This Prosecco is 100% Glera grape and from the Veneto region. The Prosecco is aromatic and floral and quite easy drinking.
Bianca Vigna Prosecco DOC Brut Treviso, Veneto Prosecco DOC - available from Armit Wines £14.95
Using the Glera grapes, Bianca Vigna only use hand-picked grapes in their Prosecco. The Prosecco is quite minerally, but with nuances of blossom and peach; it’s quite creamy but with a clean finish.
Carati Piera Martellozzo 075 Brut Friuli-Venezia Giulia Prosecco DOC - £14.95
***** my absolute favourite of the night*****
Grapes are harvested in the second half of September, gently pressed and then fermented for 3 months (minimum for Prosecco is 30 days) at a low temperature resulting in a fine and elegant perlage (softer bubbles).
It’s very fruity filled with pear and apple and much sweeter than the other Prosecco’s on the night.
La Masottina Prosecco Brut DOC Treviso Veneto - available from Berry Bros and Rudd £13.95
Expect grassy and apple tones but quite a lot of citrus especially lemons and limes on the nose and palate. Quite dry.
Milage Treviso Brut, Prosecco DOC Veneto and the Extra Dry Prosecco DOC - available from beverageboysldn.co.uk £13.95
Both of these were clear favourites on the night too. The Extra Dry is fresh and soft on the palate whilst the Brut is fragrant and harmonious.
Ruggeri Argeo Treviso Veneto Prosecco DOC - available from the Great Western Wine Company, £13.00
Very zesty almost lemon sherbet but with alot of citrus and zing; very dry.
Sandre Campodipietra Prosecco DOC Treviso Extra Dry
Fruity and floral, light bodied and fresh.
Ponte Treviso Extra Dry Prosecco DOC - £10.99
You’ll find this available in most bars and restaurants. It’s fairly floral think meadow flowers but with apples and pears in there too.
Vigna Dogarina Prosecco DOC Extra Dry Millesimato 2018
For me this was quite complex, I picked up lots of tropical fruits and grapefruit and jasmine. It’s full and intense but well balanced.
Villa Sandi Il Fresco Brut Prosecco DOC - available from Majestic Wines and at Costcutter on Inverleith Row, Edinburgh run by Uthay.
This is a dry yet fresh prosecco with a fruity aftertaste.
With so many Prosecco’s to work your way through, the charcuterie and fromage platters from Le Di Vin are most welcome and everyone tucks in.
Fromage can include the likes of Chaource, Brie de Meaux, Tome de Savoie, St Agur, Goats and Reblochon; whilst the charcuterie can include a selection of saucisson, salami, parma ham, terrine etc. All served with chunks of fresh bread and bread sticks and of course your choice of your favourite prosecco (if there is any left!)
The world of wines and Prosecco are fascinating. There is so much to learn about climate, soil and traditions that influence the production of wines. Thanks to the expertise of people like Neil and Diana, who are only too happy to impart their knowledge and help us at the very least be able to choose wiser when it comes to buying a bottle of bubbles!
The great annual Fizz Feast takes place in November and is the chance to taste and buy numerous Champagnes, Proseccos, Cavas, English and plenty of other sparkling wines. Each year they have an array of producers from all over the globe, as well as retailers from Edinburgh and further afield who come to showcase their newest and most exciting wines. More information at tickets can be found here
Wine Events Scotland www.wineeventsscotland.co.uk
****COMPETITION TIME******
WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO FIZZ FEAST ON SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 2019
You can enter on via TartanSpoon’s social media.
How to enter
Click on a link on your preferred social media platform.
Find the related post.
Follow TartanSpoon.
Follow WineEventsScotland.
FACEBOOK - Comment who you’d take with you.
TWITTER - Retweet.
INSTAGRAM - Like and comment who you’d take with you. For extra entry, share on your stories.
T&C’s
There is only one pair of tickets available to win. This is entry to the event only.
Winner will be drawn from across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram entries.
This competition is in no way affiliated with Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Please make sure you are able to attend the event in Edinburgh on Saturday 16th November 2019.
You can enter multiple times across all platforms.
Closing date is Friday 1st November 2019 and the winner will be notified via DM.
More info on the Fizz Feast here
GOOD LUCK!