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Valdo
Prosecco Extra Dry Prosecco
has recently become quite popular, but most of the people who drink it have no
idea what it is or where it comes from. Prosecco is a grape varietal that is
grown in the Veneto district of northern Italy. The white Prosecco grape carries
with it a slight natural bitterness, so it is rarely made into a table wine. It
is most often fermented twice to make a sparkling wine with just enough residual
sugar to hide its bitterness. There are some dry versions, but only the best of
these are consistently successful. Prosecco ranges from lightly sparkling (frizzante)
to quite bubbly (spumanti). DOC regulations require that a sparkling wine
labeled Prosecco must contain at least 85% of the Prosecco grape; four other
local varietals are also permitted. Unlike
Champagne, which is made by a time consuming and expensive process called Mèthode
Champenoise, the better Proseccos are made by a quicker, cheaper method
called “Charmat” or bulk process (many cheap Proseccos, like soda pop, are
made with carbon dioxide injection). In 1907 Eugene Charmat, a Frenchman,
invented a glass-lined tank where the wine, in bulk, stays under constant
pressure from the second fermentation through filtering and bottling. Unlike Mèthode
Champenoise, in which the second fermentation in individual bottles can take
from 17 months to seven years, the Charmat process takes as little as three
months from picking to bottling. The best Charmat producers will use a six-month
process. Although
unknown in the U.S., Valdo (www.valdo.com) is Italy’s largest Prosecco
producer. The grapes come from Valdobbiadene, the best part of the Prosecco-making
district within Veneto. The winery is owned by the Bolla family which is best
known in this country for their Valpolicella, Bardolino, and Soave. Valdo uses a
modified Charmat technique whereby the wine is superchilled before bottling to
retain the bubbles. Ice chips actually form and go into the bottle with the rest
of the wine. The chips melt as the bottle returns to cellar temperature. Valdo
produces an Extra Brut (up to 6 grams of sugar per liter) and a Brut (<15
g/l), but this Extra Dry (12 to 20 g/l) has the best balance. Pear and apple
notes are discernible in this lovely sparkler that is perfect as an apèritif,
for Mimosas, or for the increasingly popular Bellini.
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