And who said that to toast the new year we have to spend a fortune? If we give up on the noble champagnes from beyond the Alps, and many in Italy and abroad are doing it – just think that in the month of October, champagne sales in Europe recorded a contraction of 21 percent – Italian bubbles can guarantee us a toast of excellence and at much lower costs.
Very useful in this regard and in a very timely manner, two guides arrive in bookstores which can support the decisions of Italians at the end of the year purchases with their authority.
The first, Sparkle, published by "Cucina e Vini", directed by Francesco D'Agostino, one of the leading experts in the field of sparkling wines that we have in Italy, for fifteen years now has been drawing a reasoned panorama of our production of sparkling wines, evaluating first in strictly anonymous form and then assigning scores to the best labels. A valuable buying guide to make choices without fail and also to build a culture of a world, that of Italian sparkling wines and proseccos, which represents the real novelty of our wine production and which is reaping more and more successes on international markets.
In the 2017 edition of Sparkle, 72 labels were awarded by the Guide with the highest recognition of the "5 Sfere". The region with the most loot is - and it could not be otherwise - Lombardy (which reaches 25 "5 Sfere"), followed by Trentino Alto Adige (19, of which 3 in Alto Adige and 16 in Trentino), by Veneto (16), Piedmont (4), Puglia (3), Abruzzo (2), Umbria (2) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (1).
“There are a total of 72 excellent wines that have been awarded the 5 Sfere this year – Francesco D'Agostino comments with satisfaction – a higher number than in the previous edition and this confirms the strength and level achieved by the tricolor bubbles, appreciated all over the world for character and originality. As is natural, most of the winners come from historic terroirs, most suited to sparkling wine production. However, it should be emphasized that other areas are still growing and sometimes characterized by enlightened singles, now on a permanent basis among our top-labels, who are becoming the fulcrum of new sparkling wine movements”.
And among the 72 stars of Italian spumante there are labels that can stand comparisons without any awe with the noble cousins from beyond the Alps, now true icons of Made in Italy, and increasingly appreciated abroad and at prices suitable for all budgets and all the occasions. As:
- Franciacorta Vintage Rosé Brut 2011 – Bellavista (€ 39)
- Franciacorta Vintage Collection Dosage Zéro Noir 2007 – Ca' del Bosco (€70)
- Franciacorta Riserva 72 Brut 2008 – Castle of Gussago La Santissima (€ 38)
- Franciacorta Extra Brut 2010 – Ferghettina (€35)
- Franciacorta Riserva Casa delle Colonne Zero 2009 – Berlucchi Brothers (€ 63)
- Franciacorta Riserva Valentino Majolini Brut 2005 – Majolini (€45)
- Franciacorta Quinque Extra Brut – Uberti (€150) (magnum only)
- Trento Riserva Altemasi Graal Brut 2009 – Cavit (€37)
- Trento Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Extra Brut 2005 – Ferrari (€82)
- Trento Riserva Madame Martis Brut 2006 – Maso Martis (€90)
Or, as another surprise, two sparkling wines from Southern Italy that leap to the national limelight from Abruzzo and Puglia, with the first of the two establishing itself among the greats at an incredible price:
- Brut – Marramiero (€ 18)
- La Dama Forestiera Nature 2011 – d'Araprì (€ 57) only in Magnum
And if the idea of pairing Italian sparkling wines with champagne makes someone turn up their noses, just reflect on a fact to understand how far our producers of bubbles have come in these last few years of hard work. A study edited by Coldiretti, based on Istat data, shows without the possibility of ambiguity that in the first five months of 2016, exports of Italian sparkling wines to France, and to the rest of the world, experienced record rates. “The French cousins – underlines Coldiretti – have never requested so much Italian sparkling wine in the face of a substantial stability in the arrivals of French champagne in Italy, so much so that for every bottle of champagne uncorked in Italy – continues Coldiretti – Beyond the Alps, over six of Italian spumante”. And further on we read that "France has even overtaken Germany and ranks third among the main customers of Italian bubbles after Great Britain and the United States". Even if the problem of the average value per marketed bottle remains, which for champagne is much higher than for sparkling wine. A heavy gap that must be made up for with adequate product valorisation policies but which is not always justified from a qualitative point of view”.
If "Sparkle 2017" indicates the Gotha of our production of bubbles, the Guida Vini Buoni TCI edited by the Italian Touring Club edited by Mario Busso, in the Perlage section that opens the volume deals exclusively with Italian sparkling wines obtained with the classic method (therefore with the exclusion of prosecco) and is divided into six subsections: Franciacorta, Trentino, Oltrepò Pavese, Alta Langa (Piedmont) and Lessini Durello (Veneto) or the main Italian production areas, and the rest of Italy (from Valle d'Aosta to Sicily).
Over 50 Crowns, the highest recognition, awarded this year. But what interests most pockets and wallets is the group of sparkling wines that have a maximum price of 25 euros.
Here they are:
- Franciacorta docg Millesimato brut Villa Crespia Millè 2008 Villa Crespia di Adro
- Franciacorta docg Millesimato extra brut 2009 Mirabella by Rodengo Saiano
- Trento doc pas dosé Rotari Alperegis Millesimato 2009 Rotari di Mezzocorona
- Franciacorta docg pas dosé 2010 Corte Aura di Adro
- Franciacorta docg pas dosé Millesimato Ziliani 2011 Chiara Ziliani from Provaglio d'Iseo
- Non-dosed Franciacorta Docg 2011 Cola Battista di Adro
- Trento DOC brut nature reserve 2011 Bellaveder di Faedo
- Cuvée Blanc de Blancs zero dosage Millesimato 2011 San Simone di Porcia
- Lessini Durello doc sparkling reserve Settecento33 2012 Soave
In 2015, the national production of sparkling wines amounted to 520 million bottles for a value of 1,352 billion euro (2,60 euro per bottle in the cellar). Out of the total produced, 373 million bottles (equal to 72%) were shipped to 90 countries for a value of 1,327 billion euros and a turnover of 2,573 billion euros. And the trend is growing. In fact, compared to 2014, Ovse-Economic Observatory of Effervescent Wines, founded in 1991 by Giampietro Comolli, recorded a +17% in volumes and a +14% in value at origin.
