If you think of Italian sparkling wine as overly sweet spumante from Asti or banal Prosecco, you’re missing out on a lot of great wine. Even though the term, spumante in English is often associated with sweet bubbly, it actually is a generic term in Italian for sparkling wine of any kind.
And there are many kinds…made with different grape varieties and different methods for creating the fizz. (Read more)
Some of my favorites for 2015:
Haderburg Pas Dosé 2011 (pictured above)
A biodynamic sparkling wine from the northern Alto Adige region.
Very dry, elegant.
Classic Method: second fermentation in the bottle/yeast removed
Ferments with indigenous yeasts 70% stainless steel/30% wood barrels
36 months on the lees
85% Chardonnay 15% Pinot Noir (the traditional Champagne grapes)
Erika and Hannes Ochsenreiter are the sister/brother team, who are taking over managing the vines and the cellar from their parents, founders of the vineyard. (Read more)
Case Coste Piane Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Sur Lie DOCG 2014
Organic Prosecco wine from the heart of the Valdobbiadene DOCG zone.
Ancestral Method: second fermentation in the bottle with spent yeasts left in
Ferments with indigenous yeasts.
A delightfully fresh, dry wine that is “frizzante“, lightly sparkling.
No added sulfites.
Adelchi Follador tends the vines and makes the wine with his father, Loris, and brother, Raffaele. Read more
[glossary_exclude] Costadila Bianco Dei Colli Trevigiani Vino Frizzante [/glossary_exclude] di Tavola 2014
Organic Prosecco from the Colli Trevigiani (near Treviso) in the Veneto.
Dry, lightly sparkling.
Made with Prosecco (Glera), Bianchetti and Verdizo grapes of Ernesto Cattel’s “model” farm
Ancestral Method: second fermentation in the bottle with spent yeasts left in
Ferments with indigenous yeasts
No added sulfites.
Bele Casel Col Fondo
An organic Prosecco wine from old vines in the Asolo DOCG region in the Veneto
Ancestral Method.
Dry, lightly sparkling.
Mostly Prosecco (Glera) grapes also with Rabbioso, Bianchetta, Marzemina Bianca
Luca Ferraro and his father make a range of Prosecco made with the Charmat method where the fermentation occurs in large vats. This ColFondo, meaning with the spent yeasts still in, is a relatively new project and his favorite.
Read more
De Conciliis Selim
An organic sparkling wine from the south of Italy, in Campania south of Naples.
Classic Method made from native varieties Fiano Di Avellino (white) and Aglianico (red)
Named for Miles Davis, Miles spelled backwards, the De Conciliis family’s experiment.
The first sparkling wine made from Aglianico in Campania.Read more
Dry, refreshing and full of minerality from the soil and the sea.
Mira Porta del Vento
A biodynamic sparkling wine from the hills above Palermo in Sicily. Read more.
Dry, light, refreshing with acidity from the grapes and minerality from the soil.
Classic Method made 100% with the native Catarratto variety.
Marco Sferlazzo’s experiment with champagne style wine from his high altitude vines.
Terzavia Metodo Classico Marco De Bartoli
An organic sparkling wine with the Classic Method from Marsala in Sicily.
Renato De Bartoli’s experiment with the Grillo native variety.
Fermented in stainless steel and wood barrels.
A more structured sparkling wine. Excellent pairing for seafood dishes. Read more
The bottles are turned by hand in these pupitres as with traditional Champagne.
