Wine Openers

OMG, I’m so torn about this: According to some friends in Italy, Wine Enthusiast magazine has dubbed that country’s lovely Prosecco DOC as that fish wrapper’s magazine’s “Wine Region of the Year.”

Can you say “kiss of death”?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Prosecco. I enjoy savoring it, I admire, respect and appreciate the people who grow, make and supply us Prosecco and I don’t even mind too much someone bestowing another of the never-ending Italian DOC classifications on the area. I even order it in restaurant, just to see how many wine stewards are aware that Italy, too, makes a lovely sparkling wine.

But hearing that noise of WE jumping on the Prosecco bandwagon (where have you people been all this time?) only makes me wonder what the future holds for Prosecco in general.

Some people consider this announcement a great thing for Prosecco, and maybe if I were a advertising type I would also. A press release today (Tuesday) says the award will be bestowed Jan. 30 in New York City, but already the Italian apparatchiks are basking in the heat-ray glow of Prosecco’s newly bestowed fame.

Here’s what the Italians are saying (and saying and saying):

“The Wine Enthusiast’s award provides recognition for the hard work of a small community made up of 15 communes in the hilly area between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, where the people have shown constant faith in a single wine, Prosecco,” said Innocente Nardi, president of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. “This area still has an important role today in setting quality standards. Here, in fact, quality reaches its utmost expression, as is also demonstrated by the excellent results obtained in the Italian wine guides, which have bestowed their highest accolades on some of our wines.”

And wait, that’s not all:

Fulvio Brunetta, president of the Prosecco D.O.C., gushed, “Obtaining this award bears witness to the correctness of the choices we have made. The reasons for the prize, in fact, can be ascribed to the ability of the production system to take courageous decisions like those of limiting the production area and raising quality standards, in the knowledge that to compete on international markets one has to be able to offer volumes that are consonant with the demand”.

Hmmm. Sorry, Fulvio, but I thought you guys jumped on the DOC train because other producers outside the area were “offering volumes (of Prosecco) that are consonant with the demand.”

You know, sometimes not getting high numbers or international recognition might be good, if for no other reason it allows winemakers to continue to make their wines as they have for years, rather than stumble trying to meet someone else’s expectations. Or trying to meet a rising demand. A rising tide might mean a tsunami, you know.

My friend The Italian Wine Guy has blogged/written about this a couple of times and if I can find the links I’ll post them here.

In the mean time, “Congratulazione, Prosceco, e megliori auguri.”