‘Tis the season to consume a chilled Prosecco wherever you are – poolside in Honolulu, in an air-conditioned restaurant in DesMoines, on the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy or sharing a late night dinner outside a Roman trattoria cooled by summer evening breezes.
And, as of yesterday, there was further reason to enjoy – and rejoice over – Italy’s famed Prosecco!
ITALIAN PROSECCO REGION NOW A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Congrats to Italian wine makers! Salute!
On Sunday, July 7, reports ANSA, the Italian news agency, the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene on Sunday became a UNESCO world heritage site.
The announcement was made by the World Heritage Committee in Baku.
The 97-square kilometres of vine-clad slopes and borghi on the left side of the Piave River thus became the 8th site in Veneto and the 55th in Italy to make the UNESCO list.
“A unique place of value has been recognized,” said Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi and Veneto Governor Luca Zaia.
Located in northeastern Italy, the site includes part of the vine-growing landscape of the Prosecco wine production area. The landscape is characterized by ‘hogback’ hills, ciglioni – small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces – forests, small villages and farmland.
ANSA/ANDREA MEROLA
For centuries, this rugged terrain has been shaped and adapted by man. Since the 17th century, the use of ciglioni has created a particular checkerboard landscape consisting of rows of vines parallel and vertical to the slopes.
In the 19th century, the bellussera technique of training the vines contributed to the aesthetic characteristics of the landscape.
With the addition of the Prosecco Hills, Italy extended its lead in the UNESCO rankings over China, Spain, and France.
JFL: I also read a few days ago in http://www.thelocal.it that there is another terrific Italian sparkling wine that is lesser known than Prosecco and that is Franciacorta DOCG. This is made using what wine makers call il metodo classico (classic method).
As thelocal.it explained: “il metodo classico is the same method that champagne uses – a second fermentation in the bottle. Franciacorta by law has a longer minimum time for this than champagne; 24 months as opposed to 18, and comes from the shores of the Iseo Lake in the southern part of Lombardy. The grapes allowed are Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay.”
PS – there is a still (non sparkling) version of Prosecco called Prosecco spento
Joan's Rome 