Bisol Prosecco

Bisol Prosecco

Few do Prosecco as well as Bisol and I had the honour, thanks to the good people at Bibendum Wines, of being invited to the Bisol sponsored wine tasting event at La Dolce Vita show in London's Earl Court - a trade show for all things Italian including food, wine, travel, fashion and real estate.

Not only did I get to try some excellent Italian wines from all over the country but, for the first time ever, I had my trusty Sony Handycam with me to produce the first Wine90 Vlog. I've been threatening this for 18 months now and so finally Wine90 will be including regular reviews of events, restaurants and Italian wines in movie form!

As readers may or may not know, I am one of the partners at The Cellar Door and will begin to add video reviews for all our wines (www.thecellardoor.it) as well as a little feature I'm calling "Foreign Fridays" to compare what other wines around the world are daring to compete with Italy's finest. N.B. These may or may not air on Fridays.

So here it is, the superbly edited and masterfully arranged first edition of the Wine90 Vlog, all about Bisol Prosecco. Now be warned, this is an off-dry six minutes of full on prosecco talk but at least you get to see the pretty face of the winesleuth.co.uk and get to hear my own, half tiddled thoughts on life, love and prosecco. Well, really, only prosecco. Run VT.

Bisol are one of the top producers of Prosecco, producing a large range of wines from single vineyard "cru" labels which regularly scoop the best Italian sparkling range with Decanter and Gambero Rosso to cheaper but still very high quality blends from multiple vineyards. In terms of quality, the Cartizze offering from Bisol ranks up there with the best from Ruggeri and Nino Franco. We tried four wines from their range and the reviews are below.

Bisol Jieo Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry - BUY - £9.50

Prosecco, Pinot Bianco and Verdiso. Light straw yellow in the glass with fine, light bubbles. On the nose there are notes of gooseberry, apple and pear. On the palate the wine is light and refreshing, good mild acidity with notes of pears continuing through to the finish. 88 Points

Bisol Jieo Cuvee Rose Brut - PASS - £9.50

Merlot and Pinot Noir. A beautiful salmon pink that is dead on the nose. Unable to attain any fruit whatsoever or aromas of anything at all. The wine had a good mouth-feel and fine, tiny bubbles but lacking completely in taste or smell. This could have been anything, Rose tango perhaps? Inoffensive as there was nothing to the senses! Can't score this wine.

Bisol "Crede" Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry 2007 - BUY - £10

85% Prosecco, 10% Pinot Bianc & 5% Verdiso. A far weightier wine than the Jieo but identical in colour. Aromatically more open with fresh and clear tropical fruits, ripe pear and apples that continue through the palate, higher acidity and more refreshing. Worth the extra £3. 90 Points

Bisol Cartizze Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore Spumante Bisol 2007 - BUY- £18.50

100% Prosecco. The weightiest of the three whites with the most interesting nose with apples, pears and a distinct peach note too. On the palate the wine is heavier but fuller in flavour with the most obvious difference between the Crede and the Cartizze being the longer and fresher finish to this, the Cartizze. 93 Points

Prosecco really doesn't need Paris Hilton to lay around in a gold bikini to sell this wine. If you aren't drinking prosecco yet and are still handing over high notes for bad champagne then just try either the Crede or Cartizze and if you aren't completely satisfied, I'm sure Bisol will give you your money back*

Where can I buy this wine? (Crede)

Americans - Liquor Outlet - $16.75

Europeans - Karandarshop.com - €8.50

Brits - Bibendum - £10

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* Bisol wont give you your money back.

Italian Wine News - Week 01/01/08

Tocai or Tokaj who can tell the difference?

Poor old Italian Tocai, a victim of its own name is being forced to choose another by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg because it is too close to the much more famous, Hungarian Tokaj. The two wines are very different, the Hungarian Tokaj being a sweet honey coloured, semi-desert wine, with the wine from Friuli-Venezia Giulia being white and tart.

If someone can not tell the difference between these two wines either by name, reputation or taste then they shouldn't be drinking them. How have we managed all these years to live in this state of utter confusion?

Tocai now has to break its long standing tradition and change it's name to something else. Proposals to call the Italian wine Tocai Friulano, just Friulano, Tai or even hold to the original Tocai remain snarled up in disputes among the producers.

Prosecco still on the up - Kudos to Paris

Italian sparkling wine, generally known as spumante or prosecco, is becoming increasingly popular abroad where it is now recognized as the alternative to French champagne.

According to the Coldiretti farmers’ union, some 80 million bottles of spumante will be popped at the end of the year in Italy and 50 million bottles abroad, a 22% jump in value over last year.

Almost half of the 300 million bottles of spumante produced in Italy every year are drunk between the middle of December and the middle of January.

In Italy, the union observed, only 2% of the bubbly consumed during the end of the year holidays is French champagne and this because of the major quality/price advantage of prosecco.

This advantage is also boosting sales abroad, with increases of 16% in Germany, 8% in the United States and 72% in Britain, which is now prosecco’s third largest market.
In Russia, spumante sales are up this year by 124%, in Spain by 33% and in France prosecco imports rose 2%.

Spumante is now outselling champagne in the United States and Switzerland and last year exports of prosecco broke the threshold of 100 million bottles.

According to a recent article in the prestigious British weekly The Economist, spumante sales abroad have doubled over the past 15 years and risen fivefold over the past five years in Britain, for a total of 1.1 million bottles in 2006.

Prosecco is also winning over wine experts who accept it as the alternative to champagne, the Economist wrote.

However, the success of prosecco abroad ”will now be at risk because of the European Union reform of the wine sector which Italy voted for,” observed Coldiretti chief Sergio Marini.
Italy, Marini explained, ”failed to exploit its market position against producers in northern Europe. Italy lost a battle in Brussels and this was a defeat for the national wine sector”.
Most Italian spumante is made using the Charmat Method or ‘closed tank’ method, compared to the traditional Champenoise Method.

The Charmat Method, invented in the early 1900’s by Eugene Charmat, involves putting bubbles in wine by adding sugar to a sealed tank, letting a second fermentation take place and then transferring it to a bottle under pressure.

In the Champenoise Method, invented by the French monk Dom Perignon in 1640, the wine is fermented in the same bottle in which it will eventually be served.

Prosecco

Prosecco, the white sparkling wine of choice for so many young Italians and, an increasing number of Europeans is a mystery to me. Personally I don't see the appeal of Prosecco. Even at the top end I simply can't get into it. Everyone around me is ordering Prosecco, meats and cheeses and enjoying the Roman sun and all my palate can say is "what the hell are you doing to me?". This comes from someone who hates Champagne so please on this occasion, don't let me put you off. I've had more requests to profile Prosecco than any other wine. My company sells more Prosecco than Barolo and I have some extensive tasting notes to share later.

I suppose I've had too much exposure to the very worst of Prosecco and writing about it now makes me physically wince. It's a clawing cheesy wine! Prosecco got another chintzy shot in the arm last year when Paris Hilton became the face of "Rich" Prosecco. Click here if you want to know more.

Give Prosecco its dues. At least it's a dry sparkling wine and at least it wont break the bank. My partner loves the stuff and picks it up at the local Carrefour for 87 cents. To me, it has the same appeal as two aspirins dancing in tap water but at this price, at least she is a cheap date.

Lets quickly explain, for those who don't know, what Prosecco is. Made from white grapes in the Veneto area (near Venice) of Italy, Prosecco is a fizzy dry D.O.C wine. Stupidly high crop yields are responsible for the dirge of awful Prosecco on the market but we will focus on the best of the varietal. Every year 30,000,000 bottles are produced so you shouldn't have trouble getting your hands on one!

So, who are the Kings of Prosecco? If you really must drink the stuff, who does it well? The best producers of Prosecco in my mind is Bisol & Frozza. Both these producers are consistently good even scoring 90 points with a Prosecco (an achievement indeed). Part of Prosecco's appeal is the price but you can get these superior wines, that are the best of the varietal, for around €20. I can't think of another wine varietal where the "best in show" goes for €20?

So without further ado, let's look at my past tasting notes for Prosecco.

Aneri Prosecco 2005 - BUY - €6

Light golden straw colour with green hues and a pale intensity. Enjoyable apple-esque nose, fruity with lemon peel and menthol. On the palate is exceptionally smooth with good acidity and a refreshing finish. Lacks tartness. 87 Points

Bisol Prosecco 2006 - BUY - €20

Perfect balance and extraordinarily light a real finesse Prosecco with a slight Chardonnay feel. Pineapple, creamy orange peel and honey in a mid weight sparkling wine. Happily impressed. 90 Points

Frozza Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Col dell'Orso 2006 - BUY - €8

Sensational palate for a Prosecco giving loads of citrus fruits and honey. It's got a spicy kick to it too. Great acidity, a real palate cleanser makes a perfect choice for spicy meat platters and bland cheeses. Excellent value for money. 89 Points

Where can I buy this wine?

The best retailers for Prosecco are....

Europeans - Superiore.de

Americans - Wine.com

Brits - Jerobaums.co.uk

Question of the Day

Prosecco is a great wine to take with food, what food matches do you enjoy with Prosecco or any sparkling whites?