Prosecco

Here we are in the valley below the famous town of Montecchio Maggiore made famous by Shakespeare. 2 sisters own a historic cantina that can be seen from the train that crosses the Veneto region – from Venice to Verona, passing Vicenza which is the closest city to these vines. The sisters and their children, (including Lorenzo Barbuto from our interview), live surrounded by 17 acres of vineyards, all planted to the Glera grape. The soil here is speckled between limestone and volcanic – (see the black and white cat walking across these 2 soil types.).

The juice from the grapes goes through an initial fermentation in tank and then a secondary fermentation in sealed large tanks – (the Charmat method) – then filtered and bottled. This cuvee is Extra dry – with 13.7% residual sugar. A round and rich wine with a nice fizzy edge. Prosecco is the most popular sparkling wine in the world, by far!

Normally the name of a grape would be forbidden on a Mary Taylor Wine label, but since Glera (and not Prosecco) is now the official name of the grape in the wines of the Prosecco region, we will make an exception! (Still, think outside the grape!). The village of Prosecco is located near Trieste and the wine was enjoyed by denizens of the Roman Empire.