Prosecco: Learn More About The Drink You Love

Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by Jo

Want to learn more about Prosecco? In this guide, we’ll give you everything you need to help know your favourite sparkling wine.

Table of Contents

What You’ll Find in this Guide

Cocktails: Our favourite Prosecco cocktails to make at home.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Prosecco – there’s a 99% chance you’re drinking it from the wrong glass.
The home of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco in Italy: A little bit about the sparkling wine region of Italy
Buying guide: Tips to help you choose good Prosecco when you’re in the wine aisle.
The Prosecco vending machine: yes, it’s a thing. Yes, we’ll tell you how to visit.
Prosecco gifts: if you’re like us, your gift shopping is Prosecco themed. These are our favourite gifts for others…or yourself.

12 Prosecco Cocktails To Make At Home

We all know that Prosecco is a tasty tipple served on its own, but did you know that Northern Italy’s famous sparkling wine also makes a great ingredient for cocktails? In our guide, you’ll find 12 of our tried and tested recipes for the best Prosecco cocktails. From thirst-quenching long drinks to celebratory bubbles to the kind of cocktails you want to roll out when the guests arrive, there’s something for every month of the year.

The Cocktail List

Here’s the cocktail list:

Aperol Spritz
Bellini
Porn-star Martini
The Hugo
Sgroppino
Elderflower Gin Fizz
Pink Gin Fizz
Prosecco Margaritas
Negroni Spagliato
Bakewell Fizz
Christmas Prosecco Punch
Prosecco on its own (and the latest style, Col Fondo)

Ready to get shaking and making? You can read the cocktail guide here.

Italy’s Home of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco – 1hr From Venice

In under an hour, you can escape the crowds of Venice and be sat sampling your favourite sparkling wine with vistas out over the vineyards. Doesn’t that sound like a dream trip?

8 Things To Know About Italy’s Conegliano- Valdobbiadenne Prosecco Region

Did you know?

You can easily day-trip by train from Venice – why nobody shouts this from the arrivals hall of Venice airport, we don’t know. It really is one of the best-kept Italian secrets.
Conegliano to Valdobbiadenne is the ‘superior’ wine production Region – if you’re looking for the best Prosecco, look for Prosecco superior, which is labelled DOCG. Prosecco DOCG is grown between the two towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in the heart of Italy’s sparkling wine region.
La Strada del Prosecco – Prosecco Road – is a stunning, winding road that cuts right through the centre of the DOCG region and makes a great backbone for planning your wine tastings.
UNESCO World Heritage Site – many wine regions are flat, not the Conegliano- Valdobbiadenne Prosecco region. Characterised by steep, rolling hills that are as vertical as a wall in some parts, the vistas are stunning. And this fact was recognised by UNESCO in 2019 when the area was awarded World Heritage Site Status.
Get there by train but take a winery tour – although you can reach the gateway of the region by train (head to Conegliano), you’ll need your own transport to get around. That’s why we suggest taking a guided tour. You can read about our tours here.
Google is wrong – Google doesn’t always get it right. While there is a town called Prosecco in Trieste, it is 2-3 hours away from the Conegliano- Valdobbiadenne Prosecco region and, more importantly, many of the wineries. Find out more here.

Want to know more? Read our guide to Italy’s Conegliano- Valdobbiadenne Prosecco region.

Trip Planning Tips

If you’re considering a trip to Venice and the Conegliano- Valdobbiadenne Prosecco region, you might find these articles useful.

10 Things NOT To Do In Venice (And 10 To Do Instead)

It’s easy to get it wrong in Venice. Here’s a list of tips to make your visit run smoothly.

Our Ultimate Trip Planning Guide

Everything you need to know to help you plan a trip to the region. Read our Trip Planning Guide here.

Book A Wine Tasting Tour

If all this talk of wine tasting and Italy has whet your appetite for a trip, check out our tours, starting at €250. They’re priced per group rather than per person (like most tours), making them great for celebrations. They’re also private, which is ideal for couples. You can find out more about our tours here.

How To Buy Good Prosecco

How do you choose your Prosecco? Many people buy it in supermarkets and deciding between bottles can be as random as the colour of the label or what’s on special offer. Or maybe you put yourself in the hands of a specialist wine shop and let the shop owner or online reviews guide you? Good Prosecco doesn’t need to be expensive. You just need to know what to look for.

Here are some quick tips so that you can spot a good bottle of Prosecco when you see one.

If You Only Look For One Thing, Make it DOCG

Not everyone wants to earn a qualification in wine just to navigate the wine shelves. However, this one tip can make all the difference to what you drink – if you look for only one thing make sure your sparkling wine has DOCG on the label. There’s much more detail on DOCG in our Buying Guide below but, in simple terms, DOCG is one of the highest quality Proseccos you can get.

How Sweet Do You Like Your Prosecco?

The Italian system for classifying wine sweetness is pretty mind-boggling to non-Italians with dry wine being a sweet wine. Here’s what you need to know (from the driest/least sweet all the way through to the sweetest Prosecco:

Brut zero – the driest Prosecco you can get, rare to find outside Italy.
Extra Brut – the driest Prosecco that you can easily get hold of outside Italy.
Brut – a good, medium-dry Prosecco that works well at parties since it’s not too sweet nor too dry.
Dry – you’ll be able to identify this as a sweet Prosecco and it’s got a perfect taste if you like your drink more sugary.
Extra Dry – this is a very sweet drink. If you prefer dry wine and have ever picked up a bottle and grimaced because it’s too sweet, you’ve probably made the classic supermarket error of picking an extra Dry thinking you’re buying Extra brut.

You can read the full article for how to choose good Prosecco here.

Italy’s Prosecco Vending Machine

A Prosecco vending machine has surely got to be the adult equivalent of finding a unicorn? And this particular unicorn sits at the top of one of the many stunning hills in Italy’s Prosecco region.

What Is The Prosecco Vending Machine?

Italy’s Prosecco vending machine is everything you’d hope it might be. Not only can you vend a bottle of perfectly chilled Prosecco, you can also vend an equally chilled, small Prosecco glass (yes, glass, not plastic and yes, it’s in a protective box). And there’s more – cured meats, cheese and other snacks, the Prosecco vending machine has everything you need for a hill-top Prosecco picnic, including views!

Where Is The Prosecco Vending Machine?

Located within the Prosecco region of Italy, just an hour from Venice, this local hotspot is a regular stop on our Prosecco tours. If you want to make your own way there, you can find out more in our article here.

25 Best Prosecco Gifts (You’ll Want To Keep For Yourself)

Whether it’s a birthday, a celebration, Christmas or, you know what, you’ve had a hard week and you deserve a treat, Prosecco-themed gifts are usually a winner.

Our Gift Guide

To save you hours trawling the Internet we’ve put together a list of some of the best Prosecco gifts you can buy.

We’ve put the gifts into categories including:

Prosecco bar ware – your chance to buy ‘proper’ Prosecco glasses.
Prosecco hampers – because edible gifts are the best gifts.
Prosecco books – though don’t forget our very own Prosecco cocktail recipes.
Prosecco home decor – fun gifts for the home.
Novelty Prosecco gifts – great for stocking fillers and office secret santa gifts!
Prosecco travel gifts – if anyone knows how to fly with wine, it’s us.

You can read the full gift guide here.

Tour Gift Vouchers

If you’re looking for the ultimate gift, check out our tour vouchers. Whether it’s a special anniversary, a wedding present or a big birthday, giving a wine tasting tour to a loved one is bound to be a treasured gift that will come with life-long memories.

Vouchers start at €250 and can be used for a group of up to 8 people. We’ve made it easy to redeem your voucher, too – just go online and choose any date that’s available (no strict or difficult booking requirements here!). Find out more here.

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