Prosecco begins with grapes fermented into base wine. For Prosecco DOC spumante, a second fermentation in sealed pressure tanks creates the bubbles before bottling. This is the Martinotti or Charmat method. The cork gets the applause; the yeast has done the work.
At dinner, the moment everyone notices is the opening. In the cellar, the story starts considerably earlier, with grape juice, yeast and a great deal of attention to what happens next.
Understanding that sequence makes the label less mysterious. It also explains why making sparkling wine involves rather more than finding a bottle and adding fizz.
First, make the wine
The grapes arrive at the cellar. For white Prosecco, pressing releases juice, which is separated from the skins and clarified. Yeast converts fermentable sugars into alcohol to produce the base wine.
Prosecco grape pressing and first fermentation have different jobs. One gets the juice; the other turns it into wine.
Then, keep the bubbles
For Prosecco DOC spumante, another fermentation takes place in a sealed pressure tank. The carbon dioxide produced by yeast is retained under pressure. The wine is then prepared and bottled with its sparkle preserved.
That is the Martinotti or Charmat method. The tank matters because it provides the controlled, pressurized environment for this stage. The sparkling wine you pour is the result of that process, not a flourish added at the table.
Does rosé follow the same recipe?
Prosecco DOC Rosé combines Glera with Pinot Nero vinified as red wine. Its sparkling processing period must last at least 60 days. Our guide to how Prosecco rosé is made explains the distinction.
Nor is every Prosecco a spumante. Under DOC rules, frizzante can use natural bottle or tank fermentation, while tranquillo is still. One familiar method should not erase those other styles.
What does that tell you about Bella Principessa?
Bella Principessa white Prosecco DOC Brut and DOC Rosé Brut sit within their respective appellation rules. Those rules give you the production framework. Exact cellar practices for a particular expression need its own producer information.
Knowing the method gives you something more useful than a string of impressive words on a label: an understanding of what had to happen before that first pour.
For the grapes, read grapes used in Prosecco. For a comparison with Champagne and other wines, see sparkling-wine methods.
