The origins of Prosecco date back to Roman times, around the 2nd century BC in the Friulian lands or rather from a small town called Prosecco. It is said that Augustus’ wife, Livia, loved drinking Puxinum “Pucino” so much that the empress considered it the secret of her beauty and eternal youth.
Unfortunately at the time no one believed in the potential of this wine so production was replaced with other vines and moved fortunately for us to the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene and it is precisely there that it found the ideal environment to become an excellent quality wine.
In 1868 Antonio Carpenè, together with his partners Caccianiga, Malvolti and Vianello, founded the “Società Enologica Trevigiana”, and it is with the birth of this institution that Prosecco began to be appreciated and identified as a wine to be promoted, spread and enhanced.
The Conegliano Valdobbiadene sparkling wine production method was created within the School, developed by Antonio Carpenè, who studied how to referment the wine together with sugar and yeasts in an autoclave for at least 30 days.
The School has had among its most famous teachers, figures of the highest international prestige such as Arturo Marescalchi, Giovanni Dalmasso and Luigi Manzoni who laid the foundations for modern viticultural and oenological science.
Very important to remember is certainly Professor Manzoni who created those crosses that pass down his name, linked to excellent wines and Professor Tullio de Rosa whose books have been studied by entire generations.
In 1923, Professors Giusti and Dalmasso, seeing the need on the part of producers for scientific research capable of solving the daily problems of winemakers, founded the Experimental Station of Viticulture and Oenology of Conegliano, which became CRA – Research Center for Viticulture in 2004.
In 1962, 11 producers finally formed the Consortium for the Protection of Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene and in 1969 the recognition of the Controlled Designation of Origin for Prosecco produced in 15 municipalities arrived.
In 1966, the first Italian wine route, the Strada del Prosecco, was inaugurated.
From 1962 to 2009, Prosecco has always been DOC for the territory included in the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene and IGT in the plains.
Over the years, becoming a hugely successful wine and copied in various parts of the world, a legislative regulation was decided to limit the, it became necessary to reconnect the Venetian production with the name of the original location of Prosecco, at the same time restoring the ancient names – “Glera” and “Glera lungo” – of the vines. It was therefore decided to expand to a contiguous production area much larger than the previous one, also including some provinces in which Prosecco had never been produced or produced in very limited quantities (Venice, Padua, Belluno) or where production had practically ceased for centuries (Trieste, Gorizia, Udine), for a total of 500 municipalities. The process was concluded on 17 July 2009, decreeing the recognition of the DOC “Prosecco”, the two DOCGs “Conegliano Valdobbiadene – Prosecco” and “Colli Asolani – Prosecco” and the related production regulations.
All DOCG wines prominently display on the label the name of the Denomination “Conegliano-Valdobbiadene” followed by Prosecco Superiore, in the case of sparkling wine.
Sparkling wine can simply display on the label the name of the main Denomination Conegliano-Valdobbiadene or Conegliano or Valdobbiadene.