Prosecco Doc introduces the rosé: “possible production of 20 million bottles out of a total of 460”

The rosé is one of the dominant trends of today’s wine market, and Prosecco Doc also bets on it and opens up to this type of wine to grow even further. So much that part of the resources of the next budget will be allocated to resources to support a technical-economic analysis on the introduction of the “Rosato” typology in the Doc Prosecco disciplinary. This was officially announced by the consortium led by Stefano Zanette, in the shareholders’ meeting that approved the 2018 financial statements, and the guidelines for the future, in recent days in Treviso.

“We must increase the opportunities for narration of our productions that cannot be sold in an indistinct whole where the value is lost and depressed”, Zanette said, underlining how 2018 closed with an increase in production compared to 2017, at 3.6 million hectolitres (+10.7%), but how even greater was the growth in values (+13.4%, to 2.3 billion euro thanks to the sale of 466 million bottles). And the bet on rosé should confirm this trend: “it will be a very interesting way of diversifying the offer - explains Zanette - and I believe it would be possible to produce, after the harvest of 2020, from 15 to 20 million rosé bottles out of a total of 460 million produced in the Prosecco Doc denomination”. On the other hand, the territory of north-eastern Italy is also suitable for the production of rosé sparkling wines, in fact, 57% of the bottlers of Prosecco already produce them. This, in addition to the success of rosés on the world markets, starting with the USA, is one of the many reasons why the Consortium for the Protection of Prosecco Doc has chosen to propose to the assembly of members a set of rules that will allow the introduction of a rosé version that will be called “Prosecco spumante rosé millesimato”. “The consumer will see it as “light pink, more or less intense, brilliant” color, with a “persistent foam” and with a sugary component - explains the Consortium - to be classified among those of “brut nature and extra dry” wines. To obtain it, the formula explains, we will use Glera grapes and a share of Pinot Noir between 10% and 15%, with indication on the label of the vintage and release on the market from January 1 following the harvest. The proposal was approved a few days ago and now, to be fully feasible, we have to wait for the green disk of the Regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia and, finally, the final stamp of the National Wine Committee of the Government”.
In the meantime, the Prosecco Consortium has already surveyed the market, with research entrusted to Nomisma - Wine Monitor, which shows that in Italy, 55% of those interviewed have consumed at least once in the last 12 months rosé sparkling wine, compared to a not so distant 75% relative to Prosecco. The gap is limited to just three points in the United Kingdom, the main export market, with 48% of Prosecco and 45% for sparkling rosé wine, while in the U.S. the trend is even reversed. In other words, there are more Americans who have drunk rosé sparkling wine (50% at least once a year) than those who have turned to Prosecco (46%). According to Nomisma, if it made its debut in the rosé version, it would be purchased by 72% of the Italian consumer sample, 78% of the American consumer sample and even 93% of British respondents.