An orange wine made in amphora from the Glera grape? Say what? Background: Until 2009, Prosecco, located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, meant a place, a grape, and/or a style of wine. That’s a lot of territory to cover for one word! ‘The European Union ratified this, effectively making it illegal for wine producers anywhere outside northeastern Italy to label their wines as “Prosecco”.The typical and expected style of wine made from glera is sparkling, and just as Champagne means sparkling to some, so does Prosecco. But Prosecco is so much more than just a sparkling wine made in the Charmot or tank method. The name Prosecco arose in the early 16th century –named after a castle near a village called Prosecco. To clear up the confusion about Prosecco, Prosecco DOC was created and the grape in Prosecco was named glera. 

But all glera grapes grown in Prosecco are not the same!   The steep hilly terrain of Prosecco DOCG makes for exceptional Prosecco. But what about a sparkling wine made from glera in the traditional method– not the Charmot method of Prosecco? Or what about glera that is made into wine using amphora? Or what about en extended skin contact wine made with glera?  

That’s right– there’s more to that glera grape grown in Veneto’s Valdobbiadne than you might think! 

In June, I visited three wineries that grow glera grapes and make Prosecco that would surprise you as they offer far more expression and joy than you typically find in a Prosecco stateside. For Prosecco Week in July, I posted on social media about one of those wineries, DeStefani, and I wrote here on Wine Predator about cocktails made with Prosecco with pairings inspired by my trip to Italy.

The winery that stood out the most for me, however, was Bianca Vigna, which has been included in Slow Wine Guide Italy.

A visit to BiancaVigna where “Our Passion for Wine Belongs to This Land”

Siblings Elena and Enrico Moschetta decided it was time to make their own wine from the glera grapes their grandfather Genesio planted 100 years ago, and so BiancaVigna was born in 2004.

Enrico brings over 20 years of wine making experience to the project while Elena handles the business and her husband does distribution. 

There’s never enough time. Sigh. I’d long heard about the steep slopes of Valdobbiadne, but after seeing the facility, there wasn’t time to taste and take a tour of the vineyards. Tasting won out of course! 

I was ravenous when we arrived in Venice on a warm morning in June a few days later, and I just wanted to find a cappuccino and a pastry at some little out of the way place. Instead, we kept finding cute little wine bars called bacari with small bites or cicchetti.  With limited time in Venice, I never got a chance to sample them, so this is what inspired our menu. 

Clearly I need a return trip to Veneto! Pronto!

Menu

• Assorted finger sandwiches known as cicchetti in Venice 
  • Blistered tomato and mozzarella bruschetta atop olive tapenade
  • Creme fresh eggs shrimp and cavier
  • Egg salad with capers and caviar
  • Assorted grilled fruit on top of ricotta cheese, toasted walnuts and a honey drizzle.

 

2019 Bianca Vigna “Amphora” Vino Spumante Brut Nature

ABV: 11%
SRP: 24 euros
Grapes: Glera
Importer: ??
Purchased at the winery with an industry discount.

Appearance:  Very golden, amber, apricot, pale orange, big bubbles upon opening, very delicate bubbles in the glass

Aroma: Honey, almost like mead, bee pollen, apricot nectar, almond, balsamic vinegar, natural wine funk, must, clay, 

Palate: Dry and crisp, fresh and round, fresh apricot, lemon, jasmine, floral, toast, toasted almonds, this is a meditative wine. 

Pairing: Very good with the egg salad as it responds well to the caviar and capers. The grilled flavor in the shrimp goes very nicely with the wine bringing out the apricot flavor. The wine is perfect with the blistered tomato bruschetta as it loves the salty tapenade, sweet tomato, and spicy garlic. While all the sandwiches were a hit with the wine, the blistered tomato was our favorite. For dessert, the wine was fabulous with the grilled stone fruit and walnut bruschetta. 

This is clearly a very versatile wine! 

For more wines from Veneto, check out: 

• “Crumbs: Scaia, Pearà, and Mussels alla Buzara” from Camilla at Culinary Cam
• “La Gioiosa Brut Rosé & Raspberry Soup” from Andrea at The Quirky Cork
• “The Hills Near Verona and the Organic, Biodynamic, and Regenerative wines of Fasoli Gino and Tasi/Crushed Grape Chronicles” from Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles
• “Gambellara, Veneto: A Bubbly Wine & A Revelation!” from Payal at Keep the Peas
• “Beyond Prosecco: Carménère is Cultivated in Veneto, Too” from Cindy at Grape Experiences
• “The Custoza Grape from the Glacial Hills Near Lake Garda” from Jennifer at Vino Travels
• “A Taste of Verona, Italy” from Deanna at Wineivore