Today was the best way to start my first Trade Tasting for 2022; a Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Masterclass led by wine writer, educator, judge and speaker Michaela Morris, DipWSET, VIA Certified Italian Wine Expert. We had 8 Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. to taste at different levels of dryness. But before we tasted these wines Michaela provided us with some background about the regions, climate, vinification processes, exports, and much more.
Where is Prosecco Made?
“Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore is a D.O.C.G. sparkling wine produced exclusively in the hills of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene zone in Northeast Italy; it is made from the Glera grape variety. The denomination is made up of 15 communes (municipal areas), and takes its name from the zone’s twin capitals: Conegliano, the cultural capital, which was responsible for the creation of the Prosecco phenomenon thanks to being the site of Italy’s first School of Winemaking, where this wine’s production method was perfected; Valdobbiadene, the heart of production in the zone”. http://www.prosecco.it/en/prosecco-superiore-docg/types-of-wine/
For Prosecco, you can enjoy Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry and Dry versions. But Dry or Extra Dry is not necessarily as dry as you think. Extra Brut is allowed up to 6 g/l of residual sugar, Brut is allowed up to 12 g/l of residual sugar, Extra Dry between 12 – 17 g/l, and Dry between 17-32 g/l. These wines also are made with between 3-5 atmospheres of pressure to produce a “Spumante” style sparkling wine. Less than 3 atmospheres pressure in the bottle makes “Frizzante” wines.
You will notice that some of the wines have the term “Rive” in the title. Rive “…indicates, in the local way of speaking, the slopes of the steep hills that are characteristic of the zone. This category of wine highlights the diverse expressions of Conegliano Valdobbiadene. Rive wines are often obtained from the most precipitous, high-quality vineyards, from grapes grown in a single commune or area thereof, thus underlining the characteristics that a particular terroir gives to the wine. Within the denomination, there are 43 Rive, and each one expresses a different and distinctive combination of soil, exposure and microclimate. In the Rive, yields are reduced to 13 tonnes of grapes per hectare, the grapes are picked exclusively by hand and the vintage is always shown on the label.” http://www.prosecco.it/en/prosecco-superiore-docg/types-of-wine/
One new thing about the Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. area that we can now celebrate is that in July 2019 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In part due to the very steep slopes where the vines grow. In some places, pulleys carrying pails are needed to load the grapes to get them down to the winery to harvest. Plus the extra amount of time it takes to maintain the vineyards in this region is astronomical. We were told 600 hrs is needed for these steep hills compared to 150 hrs of work on average to flatter, plain areas. The hazardous work on these slopes has been termed “heroic” agriculture.
The main grape that is grown for Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. is Glera, full name is Glera Tonda, and at least 85% of the wine must be from this grape. Other varieties that are permitted to blend with Glera are Verdiso, Bianchetta, Perera, and Glera Lunga, plus the international varieties covering Pinots and Chardonnay.
Soils also vary from east to west, with the eastern side being more clay soils, which the wineries say gives their wine more structure. There is also an area with iron-rich soil that wineries say gives their wine spiciness. And one final area, called Cartizze, on the western edge has the oldest soil, very fine, which is said to make the most elegant wines.
There is so much more I can tell you about these wines, but you probably want to know how the wines tasted, so here are my tasting notes. Michaela lead us through eight wines starting with the driest (Extra Brut) and finished with the sweetest (Extra Dry) wine. There is also “Dry” denominated wines, but we did not have one to taste.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Extra Brut Tenace, Mani Sagge – (0g/l residual sugar) Bright, medium lemon colour. Medium intensity ripe sweet stone fruit aromas, plus apples with swirling. Very small, light, creamy bubbles. Off-dry medium body with stone fruits, crisp apple, tart fruit, and some lees on the palate. Some minerality. An elegant wine. 
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Extra Brut Rive di Guia 2020 Otreval, La Tordera – (0g/l residual sugar) Has 5% Verdiso grape blended with the Glera grape. Pale, clear lemon colour. A very light stone fruit nose. Small, light bubble. Dry with lots of creamy tiny bubbles. A very creamy mouthfeel. Lemon flavour primarily. 
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut Rive di San Pietro di Feletto 2020 Sanpiero, Sanfeletto – (5g/l residual sugar) A nice creamy mousse when poured. Pale lemon colour. A very light stone fruit nose, along with touches of lime, white flowers and honey. Dry, high acidity with lots of creamy small bubbles. A light stone fruit flavour and some citrus with swirling. Short length.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut Ius Naturae Millesimato 2020, Bortolomiol – (10g/l residual sugar) An organic wine. Medium lemon colour. Light aromas with some grape stem, pine needles, and white flowers, plus tropical fruit with air. Quite interesting aromas! Tropical fruit and sweet spice flavour plus a herbal stem note. Fresh flavours. Lots of small creamy bubbles. I really enjoyed this wine. 
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut Costa d’Oro, Scandolera – (9g/l residual sugar) Medium intensity bright lemon in the glass. Light stone fruit and white flowers aromas. Slightly off-dry with high acidity and medium-sized biting bubbles. Fresh apples and stone fruit flavours. Very creamy small bubbles.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut Luminore, La Marca – (11g/l residual sugar) Medium lemon colour and very light stone fruit aromas. Off-dry with crisp apple and some nutty flavours. Smooth, lower acidity with small, creamy bubbles. Nice. This wine is available at BC Liquor stores and is on sale for $27.99 till March 5. –
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Extra Dry, Le Rughe – (15g/l residual sugar) Pale lemon with a green tint. Light intensity nose with lime and white flowers aromas. More than off-dry, small bubbles and a light mouthfeel. Lime and tropical fruit flavours. A delicate wine. Was suggested as an aperitif wine. –
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Extra Dry Rive di Manzana 2020, Frassinelli – (18g/l residual sugar) Very pale lemon colour. White flowers, tropical fruit (maybe some bananas?) aromas. Quite sweet. Tropical fruits (banana?) and a tart edge. A bit biting creamy bubble. The bubbles are not very strong.
I checked these Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. in the BC Liquor stores and only found one being stocked, as shown above. The other wines may be available at private wine shops, but you will need to ask.
In 2018 I attended another Prosecco tasting, together with Valpolicella wines. I checked my article from that tasting and noted that there were a few wineries in this tasting that were also in that tasting. It was interesting to compare my notes of those Prosecco with the ones I tried today. You can read my 2018 article on Prosecco and Valpolicella here.
