Prosecco DOC

The first documents citing a Prosecco wine date to the end of the 1600s and describe a delicate white wine from the Trieste Karst (carso triestino), in particular the territory of Prosecco, a link still marked by the optional 'Trieste' mention. In 1754 Aureliano Acanti praised the 'meloaromatico Prosecco' of the Berici mountains in the province of Vicenza, and in 1772 Francesco Maria Malvolti praised the Proseccos of the Treviso hills. In 1876 a Royal School of Viticulture and Oenology was founded in Conegliano, and at the end of the 19th century Dr. Antonio Carpenè experimented with new sparkling techniques while, thanks also to Professor Federico Martinotti, natural refermentation developed in large closed containers. The hill DOC 'Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene' was recognised in 1969, Prosecco was added to the list of table wines with geographical indication under the D.M. of 31/12/1977, and the Prosecco DOC was recognised in 2009 (D.M. 17/07/2009). The reorganisation of the 'Prosecco System' on 17 July 2009 established the DOCG 'Asolo - Prosecco', the DOCG 'Conegliano Valdobbiadene - Prosecco' and the DOC 'Prosecco'. The variety used to be called 'Prosecco' but was officially recognised as Glera in 2009, when the DOC and DOCG zones came into being and were recognised under the EU's Geographic Indications system, a move that caused some controversy elsewhere in the world. Negotiations concluded on an EU-Mercosur agreement would phase out use of 'Prosecco' for Brazilian sparkling wine over ten years, and in 2024 the Consorzio blocked the marketing of Australian wine labelled 'Prosecco' in Japan, China, the Philippines and Ukraine.

• End of the 1600s: first documents citing a Prosecco wine, from the Trieste Karst
• 1969: DOC 'Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene' recognised; D.M. 31/12/1977: Prosecco listed among table wines with geographical indication
• 17 July 2009: reorganisation creating DOC Prosecco and the Asolo and Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCGs; the Glera grape name dates from the same year
• 19 November 2009: Consortium for the protection of DOC Prosecco established

Prosecco DOC grapes must be grown in the provinces of Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia and Vicenza, in the northeastern Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Prosecco DOC spans 28,100 hectares of vineyards (2024). The Prosecco DOC area is mainly flat with some hilly zones, distinguishing it from the hill zones of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo DOCGs. The climate is temperate: the Alps to the north act as a barrier to cold northern currents, while scirocco winds arriving from the Adriatic to the south bring rainfall, especially in summer; at the end of summer, dry bora winds from the east bring wide day-night temperature swings. Soils are mainly alluvial with a dominant clay-silt texture and a good presence of stony material from the erosion of the Dolomites and river deposits, which gives good drainage. Labels may add 'Treviso' when the grapes come only from that province and processing and packaging also take place there, and 'Trieste' (or 'Trst') when the grapes come only from the province of Trieste and processing takes place in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

• Nine provinces: Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, Vicenza
• 28,100 hectares of vineyards (2024)
• Mainly flat with some hilly zones; temperate climate between the Alps and the Adriatic
• Optional 'Treviso' and 'Trieste' mentions for wines from a single province

Prosecco, Prosecco spumante and Prosecco frizzante must come from Glera vineyards, with Verdiso, Bianchetta trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio and Pinot nero (vinified white) allowed alone or together up to 15%. Glera is semi-aromatic. For spumante the disciplinare names the 'Martinotti' method, the natural refermentation of the base wine in large vessels or autoclaves, while Decanter calls the traditional method for Prosecco's secondary fermentation the Charmat method. Spumante must be made exclusively by natural fermentation in autoclave and sold as brut nature, extra brut, brut, extra dry, dry or demi-sec; frizzante may be refermented in bottle or in autoclave, and a bottle-fermented frizzante may be hazy and must then carry 'rifermentazione in bottiglia' on the label. Prosecco DOC grapes are ripe between the end of August and the beginning of September, the clear must ferments with selected yeasts at around 18°C for 15 to 20 days, and the second fermentation in autoclave lasts at least 30 days for frizzante and spumante. Spumante sugar bands are Brut Nature 0-3 g/litre, Extra Brut 0-6, Brut below 12, Extra Dry 12-17, Dry 17-32 and Demi-sec 32-50. Pressure runs from 1 to 2.5 atmospheres for semi-sparkling, more than 3 atmospheres for sparkling and sparkling rosé, and less than 1 atmosphere for still Prosecco. In 2024, 76.7% of bottles were sparkling, 9.4% sparkling rosé, 13.8% semi-sparkling and 0.1% still, and among sparkling bottles Extra Dry took 61.1% and Brut 33.6%.

• Glera plus up to 15% Verdiso, Bianchetta trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, Pinot nero vinified white
• Spumante: natural fermentation in autoclave only, by the 'Martinotti' method
• Spumante sugar bands: Brut Nature 0-3, Extra Brut 0-6, Brut below 12, Extra Dry 12-17, Dry 17-32, Demi-sec 32-50 g/litre
• 2024 bottles: 76.7% sparkling, 9.4% sparkling rosé, 13.8% semi-sparkling, 0.1% still

Prosecco DOC is made in the provinces of Treviso, Venice, Vicenza, Padua, Belluno, Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine, with Glera as the traditional variety and Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera Lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero, vinified off the skins, permitted up to 15 percent overall. There are four types: Prosecco, Prosecco spumante, Prosecco spumante rosé and Prosecco frizzante. Minimum total alcohol is 10.50% vol for Prosecco and frizzante and 11.00% vol for spumante and spumante rosé, with a minimum total acidity of 4.5 g/l; frizzante, spumante and spumante rosé may be released from 1 January of the year after the harvest, and a spumante labelled millesimato must contain at least 85% wine of the stated vintage. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG zone lies within the Prosecco DOC production zone, in the hill territory of listed communes including Conegliano, Vittorio Veneto, Vidor and Valdobbiadene, with a maximum yield of 13.50 tonnes per hectare. Its Rive mention covers 43 listed geographic units, at 13.0 tonnes per hectare, and Superiore di Cartizze comes from a 106-hectare subzone of Valdobbiadene at 12.00 tonnes per hectare, with hand harvesting required for Cartizze, Rive and sui lieviti wines. Asolo Prosecco or Asolo DOCG comes from the Montello and Colli Asolani hills in the province of Treviso, at 100 to 450 metres, with a maximum yield of 13.5 tonnes per hectare.

• Prosecco DOC types: Prosecco, spumante, spumante rosé, frizzante
• Minimum total alcohol 10.50% vol (Prosecco, frizzante) and 11.00% vol (spumante, rosé); minimum total acidity 4.5 g/l
• Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG: listed hill communes inside the DOC zone, 13.50 t/ha; Rive 13.0 t/ha across 43 listed units; Superiore di Cartizze 106 ha, 12.00 t/ha
• Asolo Prosecco or Asolo DOCG: Montello and Colli Asolani hills, 100 to 450 metres, 13.5 t/ha

Prosecco DOC rosé was approved by the Italian agriculture ministry in May 2020 and by EU officials in late October 2020; MASAF's release of 28 October 2020 announced the EU approval of the new type, with the vintage indication compulsory. The rules require 85% to 90% Glera and 10% to 15% Pinot nero vinified red, natural fermentation in autoclave for at least 60 days, the brut nature, extra brut, brut and extra dry types only, and the term millesimato followed by the harvest year on the label. In 2024 sparkling rosé made up 9.4% of Prosecco DOC bottles. Maximum grape yields by denomination: Prosecco DOC 18 t/ha for Glera (13.5 t/ha for rosé Pinot nero), Asolo Prosecco DOCG 13.5 t/ha, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG 13.50 t/ha. Alongside Prosecco DOC sit two DOCGs created in the same 2009 reorganisation: Asolo Prosecco DOCG and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, whose hills UNESCO listed four years after Champagne's 2015 listing, and whose rules list 43 geographic units for the Rive mention plus the Superiore di Cartizze subzone. Within the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, Rive wines come from a single comune or frazione and Superiore di Cartizze from a 106-hectare subzone.

• Rosé approved by the ministry in May 2020 and by the EU in late October 2020; MASAF release dated 28 October 2020
• Rosé rules: 85-90% Glera, 10-15% Pinot nero vinified red, at least 60 days in autoclave, brut nature to extra dry, millesimato with the harvest year
• Sparkling rosé: 9.4% of Prosecco DOC bottles in 2024
• Hillside DOCG zones: the Conegliano Valdobbiadene rules list 43 Rive units (grapes from a single comune or frazione, 13.0 t/ha) and the 106-hectare Superiore di Cartizze subzone (12.00 t/ha), against 13.50 t/ha for the DOCG and 18 t/ha for Prosecco DOC Glera

In 2024 Prosecco DOC counted 12,107 wine-growing farms, 1,046 winemakers and 362 sparkling houses. The Consorzio di Tutela, based at Via Calmaggiore 23 in Treviso, was created to promote, protect and enhance the DOC, and Giancarlo Guidolin is its president (January 2026); when the wine is ready for bottling, the control body Valoritalia verifies the documentation of each batch of wine. Bottlings reached 660 million for the first time in 2024, up 7% on 2023, for an estimated consumer value of 3.6 billion euros, with exports at 82% of sales and more than 65% of bottles going to Europe and more than 26% to North America. In 2025 output reached 667 million bottles (+1.1% on 2024), with the United States the leading market at 23.8% of exports in January to September 2025. Prosecco DOC is Italy's leading wine denomination by volume and value, with more than 616 million bottles in 2023, and Decanter's Gemma Boucher (2024) writes that the wines are becoming drier and more nuanced. In 2024 the Consorzio proposed changes to the disciplinare, including typologies for the Trieste mention and a Riserva for time on the yeasts, and it continues work on a Low Alcohol line of 8 to 9 degrees. Serve Prosecco at around 6-8 degrees in a fairly large tulip-shaped glass.

• 2024: 12,107 wine-growing farms, 1,046 winemakers, 362 sparkling houses
• 2024: 660 million bottles, estimated consumer value 3.6 billion euros, 82% exported
• 2025: 667 million bottles, +1.1%; United States 23.8% of exports, January to September 2025
• Service: around 6-8 degrees, in a fairly large tulip-shaped glass

Primary sources (MASAF and the Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Controllata Prosecco): https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F1%252F2%252FD.e6818b2795e7a32f7456/P/BLOB%3AID%3D23481/E/pdf?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16153, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/5%252F1%252F5%252FD.5dd710bff9aac98b5833/P/BLOB%3AID%3D14207/E/pdf?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F4%252Fa%252FD.3d141a071e8f57601dc9/P/BLOB%3AID%3D14600/E/pdf?mode=download, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco/production-regulation/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco/discover/history/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco/discover/types/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco/discover/winemaking/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/2024-review-activities/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/data-analysis-prosecco/, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco-doc-667-million-bottles-in-2025/, https://www.prosecco.wine/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/brochure-tecnica_ENG-24.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/party-prosecco-12-standout-doc-buys-541204/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/advice/whats-difference-between-champagne-and-prosecco-372451/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/rose-prosecco-given-the-green-light-438766/. Last verified 2026-10-05