Prosecco’s first fermentation turns grape juice into base wine as yeast converts sugar into alcohol. For DOC spumante, a later fermentation retains the bubbles. First comes the wine; the entrance comes later.
The cork and bubbles make such a memorable finish that it is easy to imagine the process beginning with them. In fact, the cellar first has a quieter job: make the base wine.
This first fermentation gives the later sparkling stage something to work with. Keeping the two stages separate makes the whole process easier to understand.
Start with the juice
After the grapes arrive, pressing releases the juice. For white-wine production, the juice is separated from the skins and clarified. Yeast then converts fermentable sugars into alcohol to produce the base wine.
The winemaker manages this stage for the intended style. A general account cannot establish one exact temperature or timetable for every producer. Those details belong to the particular wine’s production information.
Add the sparkling stage
For Prosecco DOC spumante, another fermentation happens in a sealed pressure tank. Carbon dioxide produced there stays dissolved under pressure. That is the Martinotti method.
Still Prosecco does not receive the same sparkling finish. Our Prosecco styles guide explains why the method for one expression should not become a rule for all of them.
What happens in Prosecco rosé’s first fermentation?
Glera and Pinot Nero are fermented separately to make the base wines: Glera as white wine, and Pinot Nero as red wine with skin contact. Yeast converts grape sugars into alcohol. The wines are then blended before the later tank fermentation that retains the bubbles. Read how Prosecco rosé is made to follow the sequence.
Bella Principessa white Brut and rosé Brut are the finished expressions you choose between. Understanding the stages lets you appreciate the work behind the wine without pretending every cellar uses an identical private recipe.
Sources
Prosecco DOC winemaking; National Prosecco Week’s production guide. For the whole sequence, read how Prosecco is made.
