The theme for the December Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT) group of food and wine bloggers is Italian Sparkling Wines.  While many are familiar with the charms of  seemingly ubiquitous Prosecco,  if you dig a bit deeper you’ll find the world of Italian sparkling wines is just as diverse at Italian cuisine!

Here’s a quick overview of Italian Sparkling Wines

In my mind, there are 4 major types of sparkling wines from Italy, which include:

1. Prosecco – made from the Glera grape using the Charmat method.  Most are classified as DOC, but Conegliano – Valdobiaddene, and Asolo are classified as DOCG (the highest quality classification for Italian wines) and are considered to be the producer of the highest quality Prosecco.
2. Metodo Classico – Refers to the method of production (see below).  The Franciacorta DOCG in Lombardy and Trento DOC from the Alto-Adige region at the base of the Swiss Alps are top of mind for me in terms of world class Italian sparkling wines.  But you’ll can also find methodo classico sparkling wine from Lombardy, Tuscany, Piemonte and Sicily.
3. Lambrusco – Lambrusco is both a red wine grape and a region within Emilia-Romagna. It is a frizzante style sparkling wine that for a long time was considered to be a low quality, sweet and frothy sparkling wine (does Reunite ring a bell anyone)?  But, nowadays, producers are making  high-quality, food-friendly dry Lambrusco.
4. Asti Spumante – Is made with Moscato grapes (aka Muscat Blanc), therefore it’s one of the sweetest sparkling wines you can buy from Italy.  It is tank-fermented but is different from Prosecco because it is fermented only once.

Methods of Production:

• Metodo Classico – The base wine is fermented once in a vessel and then undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle after the addition of yeast, nutrients for the yeast, and sugar (known as tirage). The second fermentation results in a natural sparkling wine. In this method the dead yeast (a.k.a. less) are removed during disgorgement.
• Charmat (a.k.a. Metodo Charmat, and Martinotti) the method of fermenting sparkling wine in pressurized tanks (autoclaves) and then transferring the wine into bottles under pressure
• Metodo Ancestrale – This method pre-dates the classic method used in Champagne.  It is similar to the metodo classico, except alcoholic fermentation is not completely finished when the wine is bottled.  In fact the fermentation is blocked to a precise sugar content necessary to ensure a re-fermentation in the same bottle with out the addition of sugar and yeast.  Finding sparkling wines made using this method can be a challenge, but I think they’re worth seeking out if you like your sparkling wine with a savory character.

Italian Sparkling Wine Terms

• Spumante – sparkling wine
• Frizzante – slightly bubbly, or fizzy

For more information about Italian Sparkling Wine, here is a great overview by Wine Folly.

I have had the pleasure of trying a quite a few Italian sparkling wines aside from Prosecco, including wines from Franciacorta, Trento DOC,  Fruili, and a sparkling Nebbiolo rosé from Lombardy.  Join us in the fun and tasty exploration of Italian sparkling wines!

How to join us:

• Send an email to tell me you’re in: Include Blog url, Twitter handle,  and any other social media details. If you know your blog post title, include that…but you can also send that a bit closer to the event. We’d like to get a sense of who’s participating and give some shout-outs and links as we go. You can contact me at martindredmond@gmail.com
• Send your post title to me by Tuesday, November 27th to be included in the preview post. I will prepare a preview post shortly after getting the titles, linking to your blogs. Your title should include “#ItalianFWT”
• Publish your post between Friday November 30th and 8:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, December 1st. You can always schedule your post in advance if you will be tied up that morning.
• Include links to the other #ItalianFWT participants in your post, and a description of what the event is about. I’ll provide the HTML code in the aforementioned preview post that you can easily put in your initial post — which will link to people’s general blog url — then the updated code for the permanent links to everyone’s #ItalianFWT posts.
• Get social! After the posts go live, please visit your fellow bloggers posts’ to comment and share. We have a Facebook group for participating bloggers to connect and share, too.
• Sponsored posts are OK if clearly disclosed. Please be sure to disclose if your post is sponsored or if you are describing wine or other products for which you have received a free sample.

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