Bubbles and Bites: Prosecco and Frittata to Please your Palate

Prosecco is one of Italy’s greatest sparkling wines.  Found in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, Prosecco is a palate pleaser offering a variety of styles with versatility allowing it to be paired with several cuisines. 

This month the wine writer’s group that I’m a part of, Wine Pairing Weekend, decided to go with a theme of pairing wines with classic summer fare.  The hot days of summer call for easy food preparation with flavorful meals to please the palate and summery wines to match.   

Over the years I have grown increasingly accustomed to appreciating sparkling wines. It’s not so much that I didn’t enjoy the wines, but I’ve never been a fan of bubbles in anything I drink.  This summer I’ve been on a bellini kick on those warm summer days.  If you’re not familiar with Bellinis they are made with Prosecco and peach juice.      

Prosecco comes in a wide array of sweetness levels starting with the driest to sweetest: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Demi Sec.  The effervescence and the types of bubbles displayed in the glass can also vary allowing for a wide range of options for a wide range of personal preference.  Prosecco tends to be light to medium-bodied with aromas and a flavor profile of apples, pears, citrus, tropical fruits (more towards peach) and floral notes. They may have a yeasty taste as well in some glasses of Prosecco like one of the ones I’m sharing today.   

Pairing with Prosecco 

Prosecco is also fantastic in pairing with a multitude of foods.  It’s high acidity and fruity profile along with its effervescence make it great as an aperitivo, charcuterie boards, salads, seafood dishes, asian cuisine or just pour a glass to sip on its own.   

I've long been a fan of frittatas, but just don’t seem make them enough although they’re quite simple.  You can play around with the recipes and add so many different types of ingredients to frittatas to always keep it interesting. For this frittata I prepared some chopped up broccoli along with swiss cheese.   

I selected a couple of the Prosecco listed below to pair with the frittata that paired very nicely, especially with the swiss cheese flavors.  I have always had frittata for breakfast, but frittata can be enjoyed at any point of the day really.  Especially on those warm summer nights where you want something lighter.  Frittata paired with a nice, refreshing, crisp Prosecco will hit the spot. 

The wines 

I’ve been on a Prosecco tasting splurge since I had so many on hand that I’ve been needing to try.  All of these Prosecco wines hail from the top quality Prosecco appellations of the Veneto: Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo.  Both of these hilly, DOCG appellations have unique terroirs with stricter regulations and are known for their top quality prodution of Prosecco. 

What’s the difference between Asolo and Conegliano Valdobbiadene?  Asolo is much smaller than Conegliano Valdobbiadene covering about 1,783 hectares with an annual production of about 24 million bottles in comparison to the latter which covers 6,860 hectares with an annual production of 100 million bottles.  I’ve enjoyed wines from both appellations equally so the intense wine enthuasist may have a preference one over the other, but in my opinion you can’t go wrong with either for quality Prosecco. 

Sourced from the winery in Asolo, Bele Casel

Let’s take a look at some of the bottles. 

 
Adami Adriano Brut “Bosco di Gica” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was very pale straw colored with a greenish hue.  Aromas of citrus, peach and a touch of herbal.  Juicy green apple and citrus show nicely on the palate.  This wine had bubbles with finesse, elegance and a nice balance of fruit and acidity with a lingering finish.  ABV 11%. SRP $22 (wine.com) 

Ciodet Brut “Labano” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was straw colored with aromas of green apple and ctirus that carries onto the palate.  Fresh and crisp acidity with notes of tart green apple and a touch of citrus and peach.  A long, salty finish with fine bubbles. ABV 11%, SRP $25 

2019 Bellenda Brut “San Fermo” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was pale straw colored with a slight greenish tinge.  Dry, citrus notes with saltiness showing on the lengthy finish. ABV 11.5%, SRP $22 

The Loredan Gaspaparini Brut Asolo Superiore DOCG Prosecco shows certified vegan on the label.  Bright straw yellow with light golden color.  Lemon citrus aromas.  Medium-bodied, dry on the palate with lemon citrus, grapefruit, yeasty notes and some baked apple. Crisp with a salty finish.  ABV 11%, SRP $19 

What are some of your favorite pairings with Prosecco? 

Join our fellow food and wine lovers as they share their personal selections of summer fare with wines to pair.

• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is opening “2 Arizona Wines for Summer Times: Page Springs Cellars Rose and Caduceus Anubis Red Blend with Fresh Apricot Salad and Burgers”
• Jeff of Food Wine Click! is sharing “A Summer Salad with Muscadet” 
• David of Cooking Chat has  “A Chillable Red for a Summer Spread” 
• Camilla of Culinary Cam cooked up “Albacore Tuna Burgers + Midpoint’s 2024 February’s Bouquet Rosé” 
• Linda of My Full Wine glass was “Inspired by Lillian: Rice Noodle Salad and Sicilian Grillo”
• Our host, Wendy, of A Day in the Life on the Farm writes about “The Wine I Paired with Classic Summer Fare“

You can find many Prosecco wines from Valdobbiadene and Asolo on Wine.com including the Adami Adriano mentioned above.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own. 

 

National Prosecco Week Kicks off with Fratelli Cosmo Col Fondo Prosecco

 Tomorrow is the start of National Prosecco week and I always have something in stash to share with you all. Today I’m sharing a bottle of the non-vintage Fratelli Cosmo Cosi E Col Fondo Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG. There is your average mass market Prosecco and then there are those deemed of higher quality from some of the respected appellations like those from Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo.  

This Fratelli Cosmo Prosecco is one of the products of the Bellenda winery I’ve covered before. I couldn’t locate exactly what the association is with Fratelli Cosmo and why the wine is named that. What I thought would be interesting to share about this wine is the Col Fondo part of the name listed on the bottle and exactly what that means. 

What is Col Fondo? 

Here is where your Italian will come in handy if you have some knowledge of Italian grammar. The Italian preposition con, meaning with, and the definite article il, meaning the, are combined to form the word “col”. Fondo translates to bottom, so col fondo equates to “with the bottom”. What does this mean for the wine? Well, there are different methods in which Prosecco can be produced including the most common being the Martinotti or Charmat method that we’ve discussed before. Col Fondo differs from the other Prosecco producing methods because it goes through a secondary fermentation where it doesn’t go through disgorgement. The sediment, or lees, are not removed from the bottle and are left to stay in the bottle or “on the bottom” as the name refers.  

You will find Col Fondo only in the production of Prosecco and not all bottles will have it on the label. You may see “rifermentato in bottiglia” that it was refermented in the bottle. Since this is a more natural way to produce Prosecco without the wine being filtered the wine may look cloudy in the glass. They are produced in a frizzante style that have less bubbles than others and will tend to be drier. They also may tend to taste sour or bitter, but not in a negative fashion as you may assume. 

The Wine 

The Bellenda Fratelli Cosmo NV Cosi E Col Fondo Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG is grown on south and southwest facing slopes on limestone and clay soils with remains of ancient glaciers. The wine was cloudy as expected with a tinge of yellow-greenish color. A soft nose of apples and white peach. Very dry with rather delicate bubbles with notes of apple and lime. Great acidity with minerality showing throughout. ABV 11% SRP $16-20 

The Pairing 

I’ve been increasing my seafood and white meat in my diet over red meat and have for a long time wanted to prepare fish cakes. After tasting this wine this week I knew it was time to try them out. This wine seems like it gravitates well to seafood so it seemed like a natural pairing. Although wine is always hard to pair with asparagus I focused on tasting it with the fish cakes instead and it was quite the delight! 

Check out some of my older postings on some of the Prosecco appellations of northern Italy. 

• Prosecco DOCG is More Than Just Prosecco 
• There is Prosecco and then there is Valdobbiadene Prosecco 
• Upcoming the Game with Asolo Prosecco 

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*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.

Sparkle up the Holidays with Prosecco Superiore

As we start to round out this challenging year I think we all need a little bubbly to raise our spirits.  Our Italian Food, Wine and Travel group (#ItalianFWT) is featuring sparkling wines from all over Italy.  My focus is on the wines of the Valdobbiadene and Conegliano Superiore DOCG.  I recently attended a tasting hosted by the Consorzio and IEEM and led by Anthony Giglio where we did a deep dive into the many facets of why prosecco isn’t just prosecco.

Prosecco is produced in the Veneto region in NorthEast Italy.  There are a number of different designations that produce Prosecco into the Prosecco, DOC, Prosecco DOC Treviso and Asolo Prosecco DOCG, but then there are those from the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene that run east to west across this area that make up some of the other Prosecco designations that we’re highlighting today.  Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG was granted DOCG status in 2009.  It encompasses 15 different communes. 

Copyright of Consorzio Tutela di Prosecco Superiore

The Prosecco Superiore Consortium is comprised of 182 sparkling wine producers from over 3,000 local families and growers.  In 2019 the area experienced a record year with double digit growth producing over 92 million bottles with 39 million bottles sold to foreign markets with the US ranking 4th.   

Production area of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG copyright of Consorzio di Tutela Prosecco Superiore

The area has ideal conditions for producing quality wines as it is situated between the Dolomites to the north and the sea to the south.  The climate there is rather mild with substantial rainfall favored by the glera grape that is what is primarily, if not solely, used to produce Prosecco.  Due to the steep, south facing slopes the vineyards have good drainage combined with breezes for drying the grapes.  The steepness of the vineyards makes taking care of and harvesting the grapes quite the challenge.  Per the Consortium, it takes about 600 laborious hours for every hectacre (about 2.5 acres) to tend to the grapes in a year versus only 150 hours on the plains.  Due to it’s unique landscape the Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene were claimed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019. 

Photo taken by Arcangelo Piai

Harvest photo taken by Arcangelo Piai

The Wines

Prosecco Superiore wines from the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene are required to have at least 85% of the glera grape with a maximum of up to 15% other grapes like glera lunga, bianchetta, verdiso, perera, pinot and chardonnay.  It is suggested by the consortium that these wines are at their best a year after the harvest.

2019 La Farra Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Rive di Farra di Soligo Millesimato Extra Dry DOCG

Rive translates to those on steep sites and only pertains to sparkling wines that are handpicked from single vineyards.  These grapes are grown from the Rive dei Nardi in the hills of Farra di Soligo.  Extra Dry Prosecco is required to be at 12-17 g/l with this wine coming in at 17 g/l.  Made of 100% glera this wine is brilliant straw colored.  Even though this wine had a higher amount of sugar I didn’t notice as much sweetness as it still presented rather dry with notes of apples and pears.  ABV 11.5% SRP $17

Perlage Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Canah Organic Brut NV DOCG

Grown in the hills of Soligo this wine was a pale straw color.  Persistent bubbles and flavors of tart green apple lingering on the finish, tingly with some sapidity. ABV 11.5% SRP $20 

2019 Bellenda Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore San Fermo Brut DOCG

Named after the local church, San Fermo, in close proximity to the vineyards where the grapes are grown.  This wine spends 1-3 months on the lees lending some richer qualities to the wines compared to the other two.  Fresh and crisp with apples and pears and notes of honey.  My favorite of the 3!  ABV 11.6% SRP $22 

Join my fellow sparkling wine lovers as they share more wines from around Italy.  Catch us live on Twitter this Saturday at 11am EST at #ItalianFWT.

• Terri of Our Good Life says Beviamo alla nostra! Prosecco Superiore and Happy Christmas!
• Marcia of Joy of Wine is Celebrating the Season with Sparkling Freisa.
• Cindy of Grape Experiences writes about Pure Trentodoc – Sparkling Wines from the Mountains.
  
• Jill of L'Ocassion encourages us to Be in Italy for the Holidays with This Bubbly Wine Lineup.
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator pushes Beyond Prosecco? Try These Sustainable Sparkling Wines from Italy's Erbaluce, Franciacorta, Lambrusco, Pignoletto.
• Lynn of Savor the Harvest gives us Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco to Make Your Holiday Sparkle - La Tordera Rive Di Guia.
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm says Cheers to 2021...2020 Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out.
• Susannah of Avvinare pours Versatile Lambrusco for the Holidays.
• Deanna of Asian Test Kitchen serves Val D'Oca Prosecco Paired with Party Starters.
• Payal of Keep the Peas offers A ‘SeeYaNever2020’ Toast with Italian Bubbly.
• Linda of My Full Wine Glass says Hello Again, Lambrusco - Everyone Deserves a Second Chance.
• Jane of Always Ravenous pairs a Frizzante with Holiday Sweet Treats.
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles pours Prosecco - Joyful Bubbles to “Wring” Out 2020.
• Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog offers A Taste of 21st Century Lambrusco; Paltrinieri Lambrusco di Sorbara Radice.
• Nicole of Somm's Table shares The Wide World of Italian Bubblies.
• Katarina of Grapevine Adventures posts A Year in Need of Sparkling Wine Surprises.
• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is Celebrating with Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Amidst the Pandemic.

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.  Importers: La Farra (Vino Vero, Lyra LLC, J. Strecker Selections), Perlage (Triton Collection, Chartrand Imports), Bellenda (Specialty Cellars)