The sparkling wines of Veneto

Veneto is the region that produces the most sparkling wine in Italy, a record that is given by the 500 million bottles of Prosecco that each produces. Veneto is a wine-growing region of ancient traditions, in fact, the grapes have been present in this region for over 3,000 years, probably brought by the Etruscans. Even in the days of the Romans, Veneto had become the largest wine producer, and areas like Valpolicella were so famous that poets like Virgil deny the qualities of the famous Reticus, red wine named after Retia, the ancient name of Veneto. In the Middle Ages all the provinces produced wine, and each wine had already distinguished characteristics of typicality. Early in that period the hints of the various vine varieties cultivated in Veneto, such as Garganega quoted by Pier de Crescenzi. The Veneto was also affected in the mid-'800 by ampelopathies that have changed European viticulture. Oidium, mildew and filloxera completely overturned the setting of Venetian viticulture with the arrival of so-called international vines. To rebuild the regional viticulture, the Conegliano School of Enology was founded in the 1920s. The desire to improve, prompted the winemakers to continue experimentation, and managed to find the best vines for each soil, so as to favor the characteristics of uniqueness and typicality of the various production areas. Today in Veneto producers have been able to assert a wine culture that interprets a glorious tradition in a modern and brilliant way. The ampelographic heritage of the Veneto is rich in native varieties; white berry such as Glera, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Boschera, Grapariol, Bianca Marzemina, Pedevenda, Perera, Pinella, Garganega and Verduzzo Trevigiano, and red berry including Cavrara, Corbinella, Corbinona Dindarella, Marzemina Black Bastarda, Negrara, Oseleta, Patteresca, Recantina Forner, Trevisana Nera and Turchetta.Sparkling wine producers in Veneto have been able to choose the best grapes for the production of bubbles, obtained through techniques and passions handed down from father to son. The production of bubbles is something very special. Sparkling is a job that requires attention, experimentation and research that often lasts for entire generations. Venetian sparkling wine has a wide range of products that stand out for distinctly different characteristics but have a strong common denominator in quality. The most famous type is certainly the Cartizze Valdobbiane, which is produced on the hills of Cartizze, and is a subzone of the DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene, in the province of Treviso. Along the Prosecco we find the other DOCG, Colli Asolani Prosecco, and the extensive Prosecco DOC that covers Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Prosecco is produced in various types; from white to sparkling to sparkling, extra-brut, brut, extra dry, dry and sweet. The highest grain used is Glera or Prosecco, to which Verdisio may be added. Today, some producers, instead of producing it with the classic Martinotti method, use bottle fermentation, an old method that was produced in sparkling wine in Veneto (and in other Italian and foreign regions). This technique consists in bottling the base wine with a sugar residue or by adding the must. When temperatures rise, usually in the spring, the fermentation resumes and the bubbles are produced. In the province of Padua we find the DOCG Colli Euganei Fior D'Arancio, a splendid sparkling version in sweet version of yellow muscat. Moving westward to the border of Lombardy we find the DOC Lugana, where with the vine Trebbiano di Soave is produced an excellent sparkling version of this white grape variety. But surely the most interesting versions come from the province of Vicenza with DOC Lessini Durello. Here with the homonymous grape you produce a sparkling wine, also in the reserve version, which makes acid its strength. In this province too, there are 2 very interesting producers; Marco Buvoli, who after so much travel, found on the Vicentine hills the soil suitable for cultivating the Pinot Noir and producing its wonderful sparkling wines, and Rossella Mastrotto of Volcanalia, which with the grape Garganega obtains fresh sparkling wines produced by the method of bottle fermentation . Surely Veneto is a region rich in sparkling producers and the future will only be rosy.