Still Prosecco is the non-sparkling style, also called tranquillo. It has no fizz, unlike semi-sparkling frizzante or fully sparkling spumante. The absence of bubbles is intentional. You are looking at a different wine style, rather than a sparkling bottle that has lost its sparkle.
You pour the wine and wait for the bubbles. Nothing happens. Before you blame the bottle, check whether it says tranquillo.
Still Prosecco is meant to be still. The surprise comes from our expectations, not necessarily from anything wrong with the wine.
What makes it still?
The consortium describes tranquillo as having no perlage: no stream of bubbles. It does not go through the same sparkling finish as Prosecco DOC spumante.
The wine still needs to meet the applicable origin, grape and production requirements. Removing the fizz from another wine would not make it Prosecco tranquillo.
Is it the same as flat Prosecco?
No. Tranquillo is made and sold as still wine. A previously sparkling bottle that has lost carbonation after opening has changed from its intended condition. Those are different explanations for the same absence of bubbles.
If your question is about an unfinished sparkling bottle, read keeping Prosecco after opening. If you are choosing between bottles on a wine list, Prosecco styles gives you the vocabulary.
What should you expect from the label?
Check the type and the producer's description, rather than assuming every wine called Prosecco is fully sparkling. Sparkle and sweetness are separate questions, so the absence of fizz does not by itself tell you the sugar level.
Bella Principessa white Brut and rosé Brut are sparkling expressions. Tranquillo describes another style permitted within Prosecco DOC, rather than either of those bottles.
