The first time the word “Prosecco” was written on the label: 100 years ago with Etile Carpenè, in 1924

Today “Prosecco” thanks to the global success of a large district that has its history in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Docg area, and a large piece of the present of the largest DOC, between Veneto and Friuli, is a word known throughout the world. But it was Etile Carpenè, second generation of the family, who wrote it for the first time, exactly a century ago, in 1924, who brought to the “Sparkling Wine” until then known as “Italian Champagne” one of the most strategic determinations in the filed of communication, writing the term Prosecco on the label for the first time, to give a precise identity connotation, as well as a specific geographical location in the area in which Glera, the vine that constitute its essence, was cultivated. In fact, the label contained, together with the new terminology, the specific “Vino Pregiato Amabile dei Colli di Conegliano”, effectively embodying “ante litteram” the recognition of the first territorial denomination that identified a specific viticultural area and the subsequent denominations of origin Doc (1969) and Docg (2009).
An anniversary celebrated a few days ago, at Vinitaly 2024, in Verona, with the tribute from the Minister of Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, from the winery that invented Prosecco, Carpenè-Malvolti, still in the hands of the family that leads it together with Ceo Domenico Scimone (and registered in the Register of Historic Marks of National Interest of the same Ministry), and with the presentation of the research “Etile Carpenè, l’Innovatore ed il Comunicatore”, curated by Ignazio Lombardo, Andrea Barone and Sharon Carducci, three former university students who won the Carpenè-Malvolti Degree Award in the last years, established in collaboration with the Uici , the Università Italiane and the Città Capitale Italiana della Cultura Parma in 2021, Procida in 2022 and Brescia & Bergamo in 2023. An event designed to celebrate the anniversary of the first registration of the term Prosecco on the label and to tell the story of Etile Carpenè, highlighting his significant cultural, social and economic contribution to the entire Prosecco area both from the point of view of innovation – which he began to pursue at very young age in 1892, seeking to perfect method already developed by his father Antonio for the sparkling wine production of Prosecco - and of communication, for which he was an absolute pioneer in the history of the company. It was Etile Carpenè himself, on the occasion of the Esposizioni Riunite of Milano in 1894, who proposed the first promotional message in modern history, having built a reproduction of the medieval well in Piazza XXVIII Luglio 1866 in Conegliano in the courtyard of the Sforzesco Castle to welcome visitors and offer them tastings of the product. externalizing it as the first advertising message in one of the main newspapers of the time.
“The one we presented - said Rosanna Carpenè, fifth generation of the family - is the celebration of that strategic determination that my great-grandfather introduced with the intention of making our sparkling wine more representative and a true ambassador of our territory, also bringing significant economic well-being. Today, I am here to testify how the involvement of new generations is still, after more than a century and a half, a priority for our company; We entrust the study of our history to those who represent our future so that they can contribute to developing decisions for a prosperous future of the Denomination and of viticulture as a whole”. The historical account of the figure of Etile Carpenè also highlights his contribution to the reconstruction of the company after its destruction following the two world wars and the illuminating determinations he studied in the field of corking, the shape of the bottles and all the characterizing elements the packaging of the product up to the revision of the content of the label, which in 1924 inserted the term Prosecco for the first time, indicative of both the type of product and the organoleptic characteristics and geographical location in the Treviso area.
All innovations that have marked the history of Prosecco - today among the most famous and most exported wines in the world - and of the territory which, thanks also to the precious work carried out since 1868 in the valorization and better care of the vineyards, by Antonio first and Etile then, in 2019 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And the centenary bottle of “1924 Prosecco” was officially presented, a limited edition of only 1,924 examples, which aims to be a concrete testimony of how this sparkling wine has solid foundations built on a great business history and a great wine culture perpetrated between generations. “We are deeply honored by the visit of the Minister of Business and Made in Italy (to whom the “Sparkling Milestones Collection” chest was donated, which collects the milestones in the history of the company and a Magnum of the “1924 Prosecco”) who with his presence intended to underline the importance of our company in the historical entrepreneurial context of the country. In June 2024, Carpenè-Malvolti will mark 156 years of activity, conducted while always remaining anchored to the founding values of its origins in “Science and Consciousness”. The presence of the Minister, who in fact inaugurated the centenary label of “1924 Prosecco”, is therefore a source of great pride for us, which has translated into the homage of our most prestigious selections collected in the “Sparkling Milestones Collection”. commented Domenico Scimone.