Prosecco Unesco
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Italy has said it will put forward the Prosecco DOCG growing region for UNESCO world heritage status.

Italy applies for Prosecco UNESCO status

Italy’s National Commission for UNESCO publicly backed the application for the area of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene – the home of Prosecco DOCG wines – to join the world heritage list.

‘It is a recognition that we receive with pride,’ said Innocente Nardi, president of the Consortium of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.

‘This application adds new value to the beauty of this territory, which for centuries has expressed its potential in many fields; viticulture, first of all, but also wine innovation, art and architecture.’

The Prosecco UNESCO bid has been nearly 10 years in the making; the campaign to nominate Prosecco began in 2008, and in 2010 it was included in the Italian Tentative List.

To qualify for world heritage status, a site must qualify for one of 10 set criteria, and be of ‘outstanding universal value’, according to UNESCO.

Once nominated, advisory bodies evaluate the site in question, and a World Heritage Committee makes the final decision on who makes the list.

UNESCO wine regions

Other Italian UNESCO wine regions include Barolo and Pantelleria, off the coast of southern Italy.

With 51 UNESCO sites, Italy has more than any other country, and seven are in Tuscany alone.

Champagne was awarded UNESCO status in 2015, along with Burgundy.

Plans for submitting the 1855 Bordeaux classification to UNESCO were abandoned last year.

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Ellie Douglas
Digital Editor

Ellie Douglas is digital editor at Decanter.

She has worked at Decanter since 2013, when she joined as editorial assistant, then moving to the web team as assistant web editor in 2015.

Over her years at Decanter, Ellie has helped to significantly grow Decanter’s social media presence and with the launch of Decanter Premium in 2017.

She holds her WSET Level three in Wine, and in 2018 was shortlisted for PPA Digital Content Champion of the Year.