Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesScents of spearmint and sweet basil lead into flavors of lime, kiwi, and green apple skin. The texture is silky, and the light sweetness amplifies the considerable fruit flavors while lively acidity freshens the finish. Those herbal notes may not be typical for prosecco, but this is an interesting and delicious sparkler.
Located in the heart of the famous Prosecco territory between Conegliano and Valdobiadene, Zardetto has been a leader in sparkling wine for more than 40 years. This vibrant and refreshing Prosecco is produced from carefully selected grapes grown on the finest hilltop vineyards, after which Zardetto uses modern techniques and traditional practices that result in an acclaimed brut. As one of the first companies to introduce and distribute Prosecco outside Italy, Zardetto continues to conquer the global market with a wide portfolio of high-quality products.
Zardetto has been equipped with the best in modern winemaking machinery and technology, guaranteeing their ability to deliver high-quality Prosecco to a large international audience, and further enhancing the quality and flavor of the estate’s impeccable collection. Today, Zardetto Prosecco is enjoyed from New York to Hong Kong, continuing the long and storied tradition of Zardetto for wine lovers around the world.
One of the world’s most popular and playful sparkling wines, Prosecco is a specialty of northeastern Italy, spanning nine provinces of the Veneto and Fruili-Venezia Giulia regions. A higher-quality version of Prosecco wine that must meet more stringent production requirements is known as Prosecco Superiore and must come from the more rugged terrain between the towns of Valdobiaddene and Conegliano. Prosecco can be produced as a still wine, a semi-sparkling wine (“frizzante”), or a fully sparkling wine (“spumante”)—the latter being the most common. While Prosecco wine is typically produced in a “brut” (dry) style, its fresh and fruity character makes it seem a bit sweeter than it actually is. “Extra dry” styles, incorporating higher levels of residual sugar, are quite popular, however.
Prosecco wine is made from the Glera grape, which was formerly and confusingly called Prosecco, these wines are notable for pleasant flavors of peach, pear, melon, green apple, and honeysuckle. Lower pressure during the carbonation process (also called the tank method) means that the bubbles are lighter and frothier than in Champagne or other traditional method sparkling wine, and less persistent. Prosecco is also a great choice to blend with orange juice for mimosas for a classic brunch beverage.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.