Wine — Sparkling White Veneto · Friuli VG · DOC / DOCG High Confidence

Prosecco

DOC / DOCG — The world's best-selling sparkling wine. Glera grape. Charmat method. Over 600 million bottles produced per year.

Verified against MIPAAF DM 17/07/2009 (Prosecco DOC) · Consorzio Tutela Denominazione Prosecco · EU Reg 1308/2013 · Last verified May 2026
Canonical Definition — MIPAAF DM 17 July 2009 (Prosecco DOC Disciplinare)

Prosecco DOC is a sparkling wine produced in the provinces of Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, and Vicenza (9 provinces across Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) from Glera grapes (minimum 85%). The wine must be produced by the Charmat (tank fermentation) method or the traditional method, with a minimum pressure of 3 atmospheres (for spumante) or 1.5 atmospheres (for frizzante). The name "Prosecco" is reserved exclusively for wines produced within the defined zones.

— Decreto Ministeriale 17 luglio 2009, Disciplinare di Produzione del vino DOC "Prosecco" — MIPAAF

What is Prosecco?

Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine made primarily from the Glera grape in northeastern Italy — primarily in the Veneto region but also in Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is the world's best-selling sparkling wine by volume, having overtaken Champagne in global sales around 2013 and growing steadily since. Over 600 million bottles are produced each year.

It is made by the Charmat method (also called the Martinotti method or tank method) — the wine undergoes its second fermentation in a pressurised stainless steel tank, not in the individual bottle as in Champagne. This produces a wine with a lighter, fruitier, fresher character than Champagne — lower in toast, yeast, and complexity, higher in fresh fruit, flowers, and approachability. It is typically drunk young.

Most Prosecco is sold as Spumante (fully sparkling, minimum 3 bar pressure) or Frizzante (lightly sparkling, 1.5 bar). A still version (Tranquillo) also exists but represents a very small fraction of production.

The Spritz connection
The Aperol Spritz — one of the world's most popular cocktails since the 2010s — is made primarily with Prosecco, Aperol, and soda. The explosion of Spritz culture globally is directly linked to the extraordinary growth in Prosecco production and export volumes since 2010. The Consorzio has documented that Prosecco export volumes more than doubled between 2010 and 2020.

DOC vs DOCG — the hierarchy

Prosecco has two levels of quality designation:

Prosecco DOC covers the largest zone — 9 provinces across Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. This is the everyday Prosecco most people encounter.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG — the premium sub-zone in the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in Treviso province. Higher hillside vineyards, steeper gradients (up to 60–70° slopes in places), lower yields, more complex wine. The Cartizze sub-zone within Valdobbiadene — 107 hectares of the steepest hillside vineyards — is considered the most prestigious Prosecco appellation of all.

Asolo Prosecco DOCG — a separate DOCG in the Asolo hills west of Valdobbiadene, also considered premium.

The Glera Grape

Prosecco DOC and DOCG requires minimum 85% Glera, with up to 15% of other permitted varieties (Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera Lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero vinified white).

Glera (historically called Prosecco until the 2009 GI reform renamed the grape to protect the denomination) is a naturally high-yielding, aromatic grape producing wines with fresh apple, pear, white peach, and floral (acacia, wisteria) notes, with relatively low alcohol potential and crisp acidity. It is ideally suited to the Charmat method, which preserves its primary fruit aromatics better than extended bottle ageing would.

The 2009 regulatory reform that created the current Prosecco DOC was significant: by renaming the grape variety "Glera" and protecting "Prosecco" as a geographical name, Italy prevented other countries from producing Glera wines and labelling them "Prosecco." This was a deliberate GI strategy modelled on Champagne.

The Charmat Method

Prosecco's sparkling character is created by a second fermentation in a pressurised stainless steel autoclave (sealed tank). This is the Charmat method, named after Eugène Charmat who patented the technique in France in 1907 (though Frederico Martinotti had developed it in Italy in 1895 — hence the Italian name Metodo Martinotti).

The process: still base wine (vino base) is placed in the autoclave with sugar (dosage) and yeast. The sealed tank undergoes a second fermentation, producing carbon dioxide that dissolves into the wine under pressure (minimum 3 atmospheres for Spumante). After fermentation, the wine is filtered under pressure and bottled without losing its carbonation.

The key distinction from Champagne's méthode traditionnelle: the Charmat process is faster (weeks vs months or years), retains more primary fruit aromatics, and does not develop the autolytic (yeast contact) complexity of bottle-fermented wine. It is not a lesser method — it is a different method producing a different but legitimate style of sparkling wine.

Sweetness Classifications

Prosecco — EU Sweetness Classifications (EU Reg 1308/2013)
StyleItalian termResidual sugarNotes
Brut Nature / Zero DosagePas Dosé<3 g/LCompletely dry; rare in Prosecco
Extra BrutExtra Brut0–6 g/LVery dry; growing popularity
BrutBrut<12 g/LDry; most popular internationally
Extra DryExtra Dry12–17 g/LSlightly sweet — the traditional Prosecco style; most sold in Italy
Dry / SecDry / Sec17–32 g/LNoticeably sweet
Demi-SecAbboccato32–50 g/LSweet; rare in Prosecco

Note that "Extra Dry" is paradoxically the traditional slightly-sweet style of Prosecco — sweeter than "Brut." This counterintuitive naming reflects the historical classification system adopted before international palates shifted toward drier styles. Most Prosecco exported to the UK and North America is now labelled Brut.

Regulatory Framework and GI Architecture

The 2009 GI reform — a strategic masterstroke

Before 2009, "Prosecco" was both the name of the wine and the name of the grape variety used to make it. This meant that producers anywhere in the world could plant the grape and label their wine "Prosecco." Italy addressed this through a major regulatory reform in 2009 that simultaneously created the Prosecco DOC covering 9 provinces, elevated Conegliano Valdobbiadene to DOCG, and renamed the primary grape from "Prosecco" to "Glera."

The renaming of the grape was the key move: EU law protects geographical indications (place names) but not variety names. By renaming the grape "Glera" and establishing "Prosecco" as an exclusively geographical term protected under EU Reg 1308/2013 and Italy's national GI framework, Italy created a legal structure under which no non-Italian producer can label their Glera-based wine as "Prosecco."

Regulatory authorities with full contact details

Consorzio Tutela Denominazione Prosecco — Via Bartolomei 32, 31030 Conegliano (TV), Italy · +39 0438 22122 · prosecco.it. The primary Consorzio responsible for both Prosecco DOC and Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG oversight. Manages GI integrity, production statistics, and international promotion.

MIPAAF (Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali) — Via XX Settembre 20, 00187 Roma, Italy · politicheagricole.it. Issues and maintains all Italian wine denominazioni.

ICQRF — Via Quintino Sella 42, 00187 Roma · icqrf.masaf.gov.it. Italian fraud enforcement authority for all DOC/DOCG wines.

Prosecco — DOC vs DOCG Parameters
ParameterProsecco DOCConegliano Valdobbiadene DOCGAsolo Prosecco DOCG
Zone9 provinces (Veneto + Friuli VG)15 communes, Treviso provinceAsolo hills, Treviso province
Glera minimum85%85%85%
Max yield (grapes)18 tonnes/hectare13.5 tonnes/hectare (lower yield)12 tonnes/hectare
MethodCharmat (tank) or traditionalCharmat (tank) or traditionalCharmat (tank) or traditional
UNESCO World HeritageNoYes — Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Hills inscribed 2019No
ConsorzioConsorzio Prosecco, ConeglianoConsorzio Prosecco, ConeglianoConsorzio Asolo Prosecco

Primary Sources

1
Decreto Ministeriale 17 luglio 2009 — Disciplinare di Produzione del vino DOC "Prosecco." MIPAAF, Via XX Settembre 20, 00187 Roma. politicheagricole.it
2
Consorzio Tutela Denominazione Prosecco. Via Bartolomei 32, 31030 Conegliano (TV). +39 0438 22122. prosecco.it. Production statistics, disciplinare documentation, GI oversight.
3
EU Regulation 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of agricultural product markets — the framework governing Italian DOC/DOCG designations under EU law.
4
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene." Inscribed 2019, WHC-19/43.COM/8B. whc.unesco.org
5
ICQRF (Ispettorato Centrale della Tutela della Qualità e Repressione Frodi). Via Quintino Sella 42, 00187 Roma. icqrf.masaf.gov.it.
This page documents regulatory sources about Prosecco DOC and DOCG. It is not purchasing or investment advice. See full disclaimer.