THE CONSORTIUM STARTS EXPERIMENTATION ON LOW-ALCOHOL SPARKLING WINES
On the occasion of Vinitaly, in the Prosecco DOC Theatre (Stand B4, Hall 4), the Consortium for the Protection of Prosecco DOC, in collaboration with the University of Padua, presented the first results of the project, “Prosecco Low-Alcohol,” launched in 2024, aimed at investigating the characterizing elements of a sparkling wine production having an actual alcohol content between 8 and 9 degrees and a low residual sugar.
“To date,” comments Consortium President Giancarlo Guidolin, ”within our specifications, sparkling wines with low alcohol content (about 8.5 percent vol.) are allowed, but, obligatorily, with high residual sugar (demi-sec version). The objective of the experimentation, therefore, is to evaluate a sparkling wine, Glera-based, with an alcohol content of 8-9% vol. and residual sugar in line with market preferences, namely brut and extra dry.”
“The first results obtained during experimentation have been positive, in line with expectations,” says Simone Vincenzi, Professor at the University of Padua. ”It is important to emphasize that this is not a dealcolation process, but a different management of fermentation, both during vinification and sparkling, so that only the sugars naturally present in the grapes can be converted into alcohol.
“The Consortium,” Guidolin concludes, ”has always been attentive to the evolution of the market and new consumption trends. With this experimentation we want to carefully evaluate, first in the Council, then in the Assembly, the opportunity to be able to respond to the demands of the new generations and of a public increasingly attentive to nutritional issues and conscious wine consumption , without, however, losing the identity and peculiarities of our Denomination.”
