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PREMIUM

Prosecco Superiore: Sparkling pioneers plus the 12 wines to seek out

Seeking to demonstrate their top-tier status, Prosecco’s DOCG producers have continued to innovate. Richard Baudains introduces those steering these premium wines forward.

In 2009, in a radical rewrite of the DOC, Prosecco ceased to be the name of a grape variety and became a wine of geographical origin, taking its name from a tiny village in the province of Trieste on the border with Slovenia.

On the basis of EU law, the move gave the original producers the exclusive right to the name Prosecco, but involved creating a new vineyard area stretching nearly 150km across the plains of the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.


Scroll down to see Richard’s tasting notes and scores for his 12 top Prosecco Superiore to try


To distinguish the hillsides from the rest, a DOCG was created for Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore, and a simple DOC for the flat lands. The strategic reset thwarted potential international competition, but it created domestic competition – the DOC has five times the production capacity of the DOCG, and significantly lower costs.


Setting the sparkling standard: Baudains’ 12 top Prosecco Superiore to try


Read next:

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Understanding Prosecco Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Superiore

Traditional Method Italian sparkling wines: Panel tasting results

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