Though the grape name Prosecco comes from a town outside of Trieste, the real area for these sparkling wines is in Veneto, particularly in the province of Treviso. There is a lot of Prosecco made in Italy, the vast majority of which is fermented in tanks and bottled under pressure. Most of these examples are fruity and a little sweet, simply used for aperitivo or spritz. The traditional farm style is fermented in bottle and consumed undisgorged with the lees, adding texture and is bone dry.
With a change of winery for the 2021 vintage I was able to secure some prosecco from the legendary Box Grove Vineyard in Nagambie Lakes. The Prosecco were the first grapes harvested for the year, transported to the winery post haste and pressed clean. Fermentation was performed entirely in tank until dry, then kept cold until fiano juice was added several weeks later to provide sugar for secondary fermentation in bottle.
Col Fondo is the term used for bottle fermented Prosecco that is not disgorged. The term means ‘on the bottom’, referring to the lees sediment in the bottle that the wine continues to develop on Cold Fusion is a theoretical type of nuclear reaction that occurs at or near room temperature. Much like cold fusion, the grape name prosecco is contentious, as in Italy they expanded the geographic protected borders to include the town it takes its name from and changed the name to Glera.
NB: This sparkling wine has not been disgorged of the sediment in the bottle, which is not only harmless but full of flavour and texture. It does mean the wine might froth a bit, so it is strongly advised that you store the bottle upright and very cold before opening.
