Prosecco DOC Rosé gets green light from Italy’s National Wine Committee.

We may be locked down, and our restaurants and bars still closed, but we can smile and look forward to more Rose days to come:  On the 20th May,  Italy’s National Wine Committee approved changes to the Prosecco DOC that will allow the making of Prosecco Rosé.

We drink more Prosecco than anyone in the world, other than the Italians themselves, and come the summer, few of us are without a glass of something pink in our hands – yet Prosecco was always a white wine, until the changes now being made allowing Glera (the traditional Prosecco Grape) and Pinot Nero to be blended.

The new Rose must:

– Be made with a minimum of 85% Glera grapes and 10-15% Pinot Nero.
– The Martinotti/Charmat method must be used for the second fermentation and the wines must be aged on their lees for a minimum of 60 days.
– The wines will be classified as brut nature, brut, and extra dry.
– The colour will be a “brilliant, more or less intense rose hue” and the wines must have a lingering effervescence.
– The wines will bear a year vintage.
– Wineries will be allowed to sell their wines on January 1 of the year following the harvest.

Producers such as Slow Food Supporters and Premium Prosecco makers, Villa Sandi could be producing Prosecco Rose from this Autumn – this is because they refrigerate the grape juices to preserve their freshness, but meaning they have stocks of must to make this product 

 Giancarlo Moretti Polegato, owner of Villa Sandi was the first winemaker to propose a Prosecco Rosé back when the DOC was created in 2009 and says “On 20th May, Italy’s National Wine Committee approved the changes to the appellation regulations. And they will be published in Italy’s official legislative bulletin on June 15. From that point, a minimum of two months are required for the second fermentation and ageing of the wines. If everything goes well, we will be able to sell our Prosecco DOC Rosé in Italy in September. And then in October we will be able to ship the wines throughout the world. The now historic date of May 20 now gives us a real timeline.”

We toast Mr Giancarlo Moretti Polegato for his perseverance – we cant wait to taste the results; his other wines are superlative with a freshness not found in other Prosecco marques, and are unique in having wines from every area of the Prosecco region: from Il Fresco perfect for summer drinking to Asolo which pairs with that most English dish, fish and chips.

Slow Food in the UK supports the Sustainability Award at the Glass of Bubbly Awards, the global awards for the most prestigious sparkling wines.