The European Chronicles 2024.8 - Prosecco And...

 Let's Have A Wine Chat


We're in Italy, in Valdobbiadene, the heart of the Prosecco wine region, for a few days now, with a few more to go.  We like wine...enough to have The Wine Shack back in Sonoita, to belong to a few wine clubs, to learn about, taste, and travel to other wine areas...we're not experts by any stretch, but we're more than casual...

Being here, going to tastings here, experiencing the wineries here...is transformative.  It's not just different, although it is tempting to apply only that descriptor.  I'm comfortable with being judgmental:  it's better.  In almost every possible way.

Most in the US know Prosecco, like Cava from Spain, as an inexpensive alternative to "real" Champagne or even California sparkling wine.  We get cases and cases of it from volume producers, often for $10/bottle or less at the discount chains.  Rarely, if ever, are we exposed to the intricacies of what Prosecco can offer, nor the quality of the small wineries elevating the craft.  We've tried to seek out these smaller producers, the ones not generally available in the US market.  The two largest here are Valdo and Mionetto, both volume producers and widely available in the US...and thus not on our "must see" list.  We wanted to unearth some unexpected gems.

Like any other product, there is a quality hierarchy ranging from the everyday to the sublime.  Surprisingly, though, here in the land of Prosecco, the cost difference from low to high is shockingly small...nothing like the huge ranges you see for Champagne or California wine.

In the last post, we visited Bartolomiol for a tasting, and it was a fantastic experience.  More on them later...but our host there, Aurora, suggested that we visit Cartizze PDC, a very small winery using only glera grapes from Cartizze, a small 107 hectare area high in the hills, considered the pinnacle of Prosecco vineyards.



Cartizze PDC

Tasting room ceiling...we might HAVE to find a way to do something like this at The Wine Shack.


High atop the Cartizze vineyard hills...



Set it up...tastings always come with wonderful local cheeses and small breadsticks that are somehow crunchy and light as air.


Once again tasting dry to sweet(er)...Extra Brut to Dry...


They produce only 15,000 bottles each year.  And, they have a fairly unique process, with sculpture-like concrete first fermentation tanks:


Inside...smooth...

This allows for precise temperature control compared to stainless tanks and for better "circulation" of the fermenting wine because of the organic shape...no corners.


The second fermentation, where the CO2 is captured to produce the bubbles, is done in more traditional stainless steel tanks because they better contain the pressure...most commercial Prosecco is second fermented in a steel tank for approximately 30 days...Cartizze PDC ages theirs for at least 60, creating smaller, more elegant bubbles...you can actually see the difference.  The "mouth feel" of the wine is completely different, much more subtle.


More on how Prosecco is made here:


The full episode if you want a deeper dive:


Wine Folly's take:



Hard to beat the setting too.


Cartizze PDC's wines were all wonderful, flavorful, elegant and special...a bottle of the Extra Dry went in our backpack...for the walk back.  ðŸ˜‚


Relive 'Cartizze PDC'





Successfully missing the rain, but NOT the hills...steep!!! 😎. Relive says at least part was a 30% grade.




A very nice sense of humor...


We went back to Bartolomiol for a tour of their winery, sculpture garden and a more extensive tasting.  So worth it.



This time, we started in the winery itself, guided by Nicholas.  Conceptually, Bartolomiol has invested heavily in the equipment to make Prosecco instead of vineyards.  They have some, but predominantly rely on their relationships with local family farmers they have developed over their 100-year history and multiple generations, to supply the grapes.  

Different vineyard locations are called a "Rive (Ree-vay)," and those are also family owned and farmed, through many generations.  Some of their wine is produced from specific Rive, and that's noted on the bottle.  There are 43 individual Rive sites between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano.  Wines from Rive closer to Conegliano tend to taste riper and richer because the elevation is lower and it is warmer.  As you move closer to Valdobbiadene, it is higher and cooler and the wines taste fresher and more elegant.

The grapes are hand harvested...you can't get a tractor up these slopes...and off loaded into this large vat.



The auger takes them to one of four pneumatic presses that you can see on the second floor.


The juice is gently extracted through a cycle that gradually increases the pressure...a certain amount of juice is drawn off at a "soft" pressure of 0.8 bar called "free run juice" and is considered to be of higher quality.

Prosecco is made using the Tank Method, also called Charmat Method and also the Martinotti Method...basically, the CO2 is injected during the second fermentation in large tanks, vs the Champagne method where the bubbles are created in each individual bottle.


You can also have "still" Prosecco, the wine produced after the first fermentation.  Relatively rare, we tasted it during this session at Bartolomoil...very fresh, light, floral, mineral-y...a great summer wine.

BIG tanks...




We walk the grounds through their estate vineyard...




This sculpture contains yarn donated from the workers at the original plant now occupied by the winery...they manufactured silk.


An outdoor start to our tasting.



Moving inside to taste their reserve selection.


Our favorite:  the one in the middle, the Grande Cuvee Del Fondatore Extra Brut Rive San Pietro Di Barbozza.  Fan-fucking-tastic.  Aged 10 months in the tank during the second fermentation:  elegant, tiny bubbles, fresh, crisp, flavorful.  Fan-fucking-tastic.  A bottle followed us back to Roggia dei Cedri.


Note the Rive:  San Pietro Di Barbozza


You can see where that Rive is, just to the left of the yellow Cartizze triangle




You might, quite reasonably, ask, "Well, how much does this incredibly great, special, fan-fucking-tastic wine wonderfulness cost?"  


19.50 euro, about $21.  Shipping, through their agent, would add 148 euro/case, or $160/case...$13/bottle.  I would suggest to you that there is nothing, no sparkling wine, you can get in the US that is better at $34/bottle.  None.  I mean NONE.  We will order a case or two this fall/winter, when temperatures drop and the wine won't be ruined.

Now, you'd think this experience would be fan-fucking-tastic enough.  But as we walk back into Roggia dei Cedri, carefully holding our special bottle, Alberto and several of his friends are sitting at the large table adjacent to our eco-pod and beckon us over "for a Prosecco," from his winery, Ciodet.  Alberto is something like the second grandson to the brother of the founder of Bartolomiol...he and his brother own Ciodet.  We, of course, say:  "Si!"  You might remember, our fridge was stocked with Ciodet...and it is also fantastic.

While we're drinking, we're joined by Alberto's other brother, and a few more of his friends.  They all ride, one organizes tours for the local Ducati club.  Of course, we start to show pictures, swap lies, and generally "bond" over Motos...Alberto's brother gets his new electric Moto that he uses to "ride up the mountain"...there are now noise restrictions...  They all speak better English than we can even attempt Italian, but that's no barrier to enthusiastic communication...


This was an extraordinarily interesting hour spent with passionate locals, us learning even more about wine, Motos and life in Italy.  It could not have been a better capstone to the day!

Forza Italia!


The Pillion POV

I'll write my own short piece about finding Bia... 😀





Ciao!

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