Italian wine producer Bottega SpA is set to take centre stage at Vinitaly between 6-9 April with its star-studded line-up of premium Prosecco vintages.
The annual Vinitaly wine fair in Verona, Italy, in the Veneto region, serves as a perfect backdrop for the local Bottega winery's new
Premium Prosecco Vintage line. The collection is a novelty in the Prosecco category, offering four different vintages simultaneously.
As part of the winery's decade-long project to explore the diversity of Glera varietal, the grapes have been harvested from a selection of vineyards deemed the most suitable plots among the Unesco-recognised Prosecco Hills in Valdobbiadene. The Glera grapes are cultivated using a sustainable approach and harvested only by hand at the moment of perfect ripeness.
Bottega wines are made using pre-fermentation cryomaceration to safeguard the extraction of colour, flavour and tannins from the skins of the grapes, also known as their organoleptic charge, of the grapes. The wines are matured in new ‘horizontal’ autoclaves, the result of advanced technological research applied to oenology. The winery employs long fermentation times of up to 12 months, which is said to help produce wines with distinct organoleptic expressions, varying depending on the individual vintages and the different crus.
At Bottega's stand, C7, in Hall 5 at Vinitaly, the winery will present five sparkling wines from four different vintages: Gold Vintage 2024, Gold Cru Vintage 2023, Gold Diamond Vintage 2022, Black Stardust Vintage 2021, and Gold Stardust Vintage 2021. The first is vinified in a brut style, while the others are extra brut, described as an ideal dosage for the wine's evolution over time and consequent longevity.
Sandro Bottega, director of Bottega SpA, comments: "With the Prosecco Vintage Premium Collection project, I set out to concretely demonstrate that Prosecco, when of high quality, has nothing to envy the best French Champagnes. The historic vintages, which we jealously guard in our cellar, offer us a broad overview of Prosecco's still largely unexplored potential."
The Prosecco Premium Vintage Collection is distributed in a limited edition, with no more than 50,000 bottles, and is only available at high-end wine shops and restaurants worldwide.
The star of the show
At Vinitaly from 6-9 April, the winery will give particular focus to its latest creation, Bottega Gold Stardust Prosecco DOC Spumante Extra Brut Vintage 2021. Made with a minimum of 85% Glera from the province of Treviso, Veneto, characterised by long yet mildly cold winters and hot summers, the expression benefits from the addition of Chardonnay and Pinot grapes.
The wine makes use of a unusual method applied at the end of the fermentation process, where it is kept in contact with the inactive yeast for a minimum of 11 months. Through this autolytic process, the wine's body, structure, and aromatic qualities are all enhanced. The final touch involves adding a dosage of syrup made from a portion of the wine that has been aged in oak barrels. As a result, the entire production process lasts at least 12 months.
Bottega Gold Stardust is said to display a bouquet of ripe apple and pear with distinctive bread crust aromas, spicy hints of sage, marjoram, and complex notes due to the ageing period in wood barrels. Described as dry, sapid, and persistent, the Prosecco is a great pairing for raw food and oysters, as well as fish main courses.
The show-stopping bottle, which retails for €250, is coated with 5,000 hand-positioned crystals for a stardust effect.
