Italy is world-famous for her food but also for her wine and travellers who find a vacation rental in Italy with Italy Villas will likely be excited to indulge in a little of both while spending time in this country and culture of enjoying the good life. Many regions of Italy have wine specialities and produce various reds and whites and sparkling wines but one of the wines with the most recognisable name values is Prosecco.
Prosecco has been a DOC (a “Denominazione di origine controllata” or “controlled designation of origin”) for some time and was made a DOCG (a “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” or “controlled and guaranteed designation of origin”) in 2009. It comes from Italy’s largest DOC region, an area in the Northern Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia that spreads over 23,000 hectares and across 9 provinces. It must be produced in this area and also has to be produced using both a specific vinification process and at least 85% of its grapes must be Glera Grapes, a variety that is native to the region.
Dating back to the 16th century, prosecco is actually a recreation of a wine that made in antiquity and is named after the supposed place of production of that ancient drink. Made for centuries, it was refined and mastered with new techniques and requirements from the 1960s onwards, which helped improve the quality of the wine and sealed its place as one of the most popular wines in the world.
Of the three main categories of prosecco – spumante, frizzante, and tranquillo – the tranquillo is the still and lesser-known variety while the other two are sparkling to different degrees. However, tranquillo is actually the original as bubbles were only added to the beverage in the 19th century. In addition to the variation in the amount of bubbles, the sweetness, notes, and dryness of the wine differs greatly across types and brands. There is, therefore, a whole world of prosecco to discover!
So, if you want to dive in and begin discovering the incredible wineries and wines available throughout the lush and beautiful countryside of this part of the world, browse our villas in Veneto and holiday rentals in Friuli Venezia Giulia to begin sampling the endless selection of delicious proseccos on the market...