The boundaries of the cultivation area were drawn very soon in the 20th century, and the consortium was established in 1962. The “Strada del Prosecco” (“Prosecco Route”) was Italy’s first recognised wine route when it was created in 1966. Controlled origins followed and led to status quo in 2010.
There are a few very small DOCG appellations such as Asolo with marginal yields per hectare. The most famous locations lie between the little towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. In the pre-alpine hillsides of the Dolomites, loamy calcareous soils with good drainage are considered to be the best subsoil. Cold downslope winds facilitate the ripening process.
In the sub-appellation “Rive”, 43 municipalities bottle wines individually in order to express the terroir as clearly as possible. The greatest treasures come from Cartizze, a smooth, concave hillside consisting of marl, sandstone and loam, in whose basin the sun is captured. The fortunate winegrowers bring in small, but very high quality harvests on nearly five per cent of the area. Venetian style villages dot the countryside. The churches bear onion-domed towers which are reminiscent of the imperial and royal past under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This cultural landscape will soon become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at least if everything goes in accordance with the will of a specifically established interest group. The chances are not bad that the “Land of Prosecco” will soon end up in the good company of Burgundy and Champagne.
Production in the tiny zones remains limited; entry-level prices from 500,000 euros per hectare reflect this. It can be two million in Cartizze. In real life this will also hardly help, because none of the 140 winegrowers who own a little piece of the merely 107 hectares will part with their land.
The best have worked far too hard for this. At the beginning, they stood there somewhat alone with their notion of quality, and in addition to winegrowing often had to pursue a bread-and-butter job. They were the ones who gave the classic bottle fermentation of Prosecco its signature.