Page 32 - aruba-today-20190709

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 9 July 2019

Prosecco’s bubble shows no sign of bursting

By COLLEEN BARRY playbook.
Associated Press They successfully lobbied to
ASOLO, Italy (AP) — Prosec- have Prosecco as a brand
co, the fruity sparkling wine with protected status
made in the northeastern switched from the grape
hills of Italy is gaining in once known as Prosecco,
global popularity — and and now Glera, to a hilly
producers of Champagne, territory in northeastern It-
for so long the dominant aly. It is based around the
bubbly wine, are taking city of Treviso and encom-
note. passes five provinces in the
Prosecco has become the wider Veneto region and
best-selling sparkling wine four in neighboring Friuli
in the world by volume, Venezia Giulia, right up to
and experts say it is eroding the Slovenian border. That
the market share of Cham- change, made in 2009,
pagne, the French wine has helped producers bet-
that is synonymous with ter control quality and fight
celebration but also comes against counterfeiters.
with a heftier price tag. The The most renowned of the
Italian wine’s production In this image taken on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, wine grower Adelino Pizzobon checks a bunch of three consortiums, Coneg-
eclipsed Champagne’s grapes in a Prosecco vineyard at the Case Paolin farm, in Volpago del Montello, Italy. liano Valdobbiadene, is try-
five years ago and is now Associated Press ing to get the territory rec-
75 percent higher at 544 The Italian bubbly’s suc- chased at a price that Germany’s Sekt, which ognized by UNESCO as a
million bottles. cess is attributed to its low- makes it easier to buy as experts say has improved world heritage site, a label
Champagne still claims the er price and its profile as an an after-work drink or for a in quality. “As the old inn- that experience in other
revenues crown, cashing anytime libation, making it casual gathering, without keepers used to say, even regions shows boosts both
in a record 4.9 billion euros popular in Great Britain, the pomp and circumstance. the fountain outside the tourism and the value of
($5.6 billion) last year on United States and Germa- The lower price is in part bar is competition,” said the product. Champagne
307 million bottles, 2.8 billion ny, markets where Cham- made possible by a simpler Armando Serena the head received its UNESCO sta-
euros of that in exports. But pagne has long flourished. production method. It has of the Asolo Consortium of tus in 2015. Prosecco mak-
Prosecco’s bubble shows Jowin Lepper Carberry, two processes of fermen- Prosecco makers. “But it is ers are betting future suc-
no sign of bursting: exports a consultant for a medi- tation, both in large tanks, certainly not a phenom- cess on higher quality, and
this year are trending up cal devices company in whereas Champagne’s enon that we expected. higher-priced vintages. The
16 percent over last year’s Baltimore, Maryland, tried second fermentation pe- It is cause for reflection for best Valdobbiadene can
804 million-euro ($913 mil- Prosecco at the beach riod is done while the wine (Champagne producers) cost up to 30 euros ($34).
lion) high. Adding insult to four years ago, and liked it is bottled. That requires stor- perhaps.” Sebastiano Bonomo, ex-
injury, sales are surging 40 so much she started mak- ing the Champagne bot- Prosecco’s growing popu- port manager at the Giusti
percent in Champagne’s ing frozen smoothies with it tles at an angle and turning larity, and the proliferation Dal Col winery near Treviso,
home country, France, ac- for friends at her pool. She them slightly every day by of sparkling wines in gener- said he can imagine one
cording to one estimate. moved on to making cock- hand to help the fermen- al fueled by younger drink- day high-end restaurants
And those figures don’t tails for dinner parties and tation — expensive man- ers, is forcing Champagne keeping a Prosecco list, like
reflect the seasonal Christ- has used Prosecco instead ual labor when done over makers to up their game. they do for Champagne,
mas sales bump of 20 per- of Champagne for the past thousands of bottles. “The quality of Cham- based on geographic de-
cent. four New Year’s Eves. Prosecco producers them- pagne at the moment nominations and zones.
Michael Edwards, an ex- “My initial reason for try- selves are taken aback has never been higher “That is the plan we should
pert who has been a wine ing it at the beach is be- by their wine’s success, because it has to be. The go for, being able to bring
judge for Decanter maga- cause it was less expensive and mindful not to squan- danger is the competition, knowledge about our ter-
zine and wrote the book than Champagne. Now I der it. They are up against so it has to be better,” said ritory, just like the knowl-
“The Finest Wines of Cham- use it because I prefer it to not only imitators, but also Edwards. edge off Champagne was
pagne,” says consumers Champagne,” she said. other sparkling wines, like At the same time, the three spread to the entire world,”
are increasingly interested With an average produc- Spain’s Cava, which still consortiums that make Bonomo said.
in sparkling wines. tion cost of 3.70 euros does not rival Prosecco in Prosecco have taken some Asolo is the smallest of the
“Prosecco capitalizes on ($4.20) per bottle, a frac- terms of global sales, and hints from the Champagne three consortia making
the desire to drink spar- tion of Champagne’s av- Prosecco, but it has ex-
kling wine, not necessarily erage 10.24 euros ($11.63), panded its vineyards by
Champagne,” he says. Prosecco can be pur- 86 percent from 2011 to
2017. That has given much
needed economic stimulus
to a region that suffered a
blow with the failure of two
regional banks that de-
voured billions in savings.
“We see many young peo-
ple who are remaining to
work in family companies
... because they have pros-
pects of a good life,” Ser-
ena said. “Prosecco has
In this image taken on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, wine grower In this image taken on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, wine grower
Adelino Pizzobon inspects a Prosecco vineyard at the Case Adelino Pizzobon opens a container of Prosecco wine, at the a fruitiness and a perfume
Paolin farm, in Volpago del Montello, Italy. Case Paolin farm, in Volpago del Montello, Italy. that gives hope for the
Associated Press Associated Press future.”q