What is Prosecco? Yes, it’s wine. Here’s the rest

Is Prosecco wine?

Yes. Prosecco is wine: a sparkling wine from northeast Italy, made mostly from a white grape called Glera, in white and rosé. It is not a brand, not a cocktail and not a kind of Champagne. It is its own wine with its own protected name, the way Champagne is.¹

That is the whole answer. The rest is knowing which bottle you meant to buy, and the most useful word on the label is the one most people misread. We’ll get to “dry”. It’s a whole thing.

What is Prosecco made of?

Mostly Glera, a white grape with a light body and an easy, fruity character. The rules require at least 85% Glera; the rest can come from a short list of other permitted grapes.² Until 2009 the grape itself was also called Prosecco. Then it was officially renamed Glera, so the word Prosecco could mean the place-protected wine and nothing else.³

The rosé has its own recipe: Glera with 10 to 15% Pinot Nero, which Americans know as Pinot Noir, made as a red wine. That splash is where the colour comes from.²

Where does Prosecco come from?

From nine provinces in two regions of northeast Italy: Treviso, Venezia, Vicenza, Padova and Belluno in the Veneto, and Pordenone, Udine, Gorizia and Trieste in Friuli Venezia Giulia.² The name comes from a small village called Prosecco, on the coast near Trieste.⁴ The famous steep vineyards are somewhere else entirely, in the hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, whose wine carries its own name: Prosecco DOC and DOCG, explained. Our guide to whether Prosecco is a place or a grape has the map.

How does Prosecco get its bubbles?

Almost all Prosecco gets its bubbles in a large, sealed steel tank.² A still wine goes in with a little sugar and yeast; the second fermentation makes carbon dioxide; the tank traps it. That is the Charmat, or Martinotti, method, and it keeps the fresh green apple, pear and white-flower smell of the grape.² That fully sparkling style is called spumante. There is also frizzante, gently fizzy, whose sparkle may be made in the bottle or the tank, and a still Prosecco, tranquillo.² Champagne does its second fermentation in every bottle⁵ and then rests on the yeast for at least 15 months, which gives it deeper, richer aromas.⁶ The Charmat method, step by step.

Is Prosecco sweet or dry? The word that misleads everyone

Sparkling wine kept its old trade names, so the label runs backwards. From driest to sweetest: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Demi-sec.⁷ Read that again. Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut, and Dry is sweeter still.

In English, “extra dry” sounds like the serious bottle. On a sparkling wine, it’s the friendlier, softer one. If you like it crisp, buy Brut. If you like a little roundness, Extra Dry is yours. The Brut Truth has the grams and the history.

How strong is Prosecco?

1. Beerabout 5%A regular US beer.⁸
2. Proseccoabout 11%The rules set 11% as the minimum for sparkling Prosecco; ours is 11%.²
3. Still wineabout 12%A typical glass of table wine.⁸

Alcohol by volume. Beer and still wine: typical US strengths. Prosecco: the usual strength on the label.

So a glass of Prosecco is a little lighter than a glass of most still wines, and the bubbles make it feel lighter still. That is a feeling, not a measurement. Count it as a glass.

Is Prosecco the same as Champagne?

No. Different country, different grapes, different method. Champagne is French, made mostly from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier,⁹ and ferments a second time in each bottle.⁵ Prosecco is Italian, made mostly from Glera, and gets its bubbles in a tank. Neither is better; they are built for different jobs. Prosecco vs Champagne has every difference, and which to pour when.

Who drinks Prosecco: a field guide

Prosecco has a crowd. Several, in fact, and they rarely agree on anything except the second glass.

• The brunch table. Four friends, two mimosas each, one bottle of Prosecco doing the work of three.
• The spritz loyalist. Orders the orange one from May to September and sees no reason to apologise.
• The Extra Dry believer. Chose it because it sounded serious. Loves it because it’s soft. Both things are true.
• The label reader. Turns the bottle round, finds the word DOC, nods. You are about to become this person.
• The one who calls it Champagne. Means well. Forward them this page.

How to drink it

1. Very cold, but not frozen. An hour in the fridge, or twenty minutes in a bucket of ice and water.
2. In a white wine glass, if you want to smell it. In a flute, if you want to watch the bubbles. Both are allowed.
3. Young. Prosecco is made to be drunk fresh, so the bottle you bought this month is the right one to open this month.
4. With almost anything salty or fried. Crisps, olives, fried calamari, sushi. Prosecco likes a snack more than a speech.