Prosecco DOC vs DOCG: area, grapes, yields and label terms

The comparison at a glance

The table brings together the main figures from the three sets of production rules. The sections below explain each row and its exceptions.

Production area: where each wine comes from

The Prosecco DOC covers the widest area. The grapes must be grown in the provinces of Belluno, Gorizia, Padova, Pordenone, Treviso, Trieste, Udine, Venezia and Vicenza. The production rules describe the area as mainly flat, with some hilly parts, and admit well-exposed land, excluding soils with a high water table and peat soils. Winemaking, sparkling-wine production and bottling must take place inside the delimited area, with limited exceptions for some bordering municipalities in the province of Verona and for authorised plants in neighbouring provinces.

The two DOCGs lie inside the DOC area and are limited to hill land. Conegliano Valdobbiadene covers the hill country of fifteen municipalities in the province of Treviso, from Conegliano to Valdobbiadene (among them Vittorio Veneto, Follina, Pieve di Soligo, Farra di Soligo and Vidor). The rules exclude valley-floor vineyards, those facing north and those on the low plain. Winemaking takes place in the municipalities of the zone, and sparkling-wine production and bottling in the province of Treviso. For a route through these hills, see the visitor guide.

Asolo Prosecco covers the hills of Montello and the Colli Asolani. The zone takes in the whole territory of Castelcucco, Cornuda and Monfumo and part of sixteen other municipalities, including Asolo, Maser, Montebelluna, Nervesa della Battaglia and Possagno. Hillside and foothill vineyards are allowed, excluding those on the valley floor and those facing north. Bottling takes place in the part of the province of Treviso named in the rules, with exemptions for producers who already bottled outside the zone.

Grapes and yields: Glera and the limits per hectare

In all three denominations the base is the Glera grape, and up to 15% of the fruit may come from other varieties grown by the same estate. In the Prosecco DOC the permitted varieties are Verdiso, Bianchetta trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio and Pinot nero vinified as a white wine. In the two DOCGs the list of varieties that may be grown alongside Glera in the vineyard shrinks to Verdiso, Bianchetta trevigiana, Perera and Glera lunga.

The rules also allow a traditional corrective practice: adding to the wine intended for spumante (and, in the DOC, for frizzante too) up to 15% of Chardonnay, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio and Pinot nero wines from registered vineyards in a delimited area. For Asolo the finished product must contain at least 85% Glera. In Conegliano Valdobbiadene the practice is excluded for the aromatic type and for spumante "sui lieviti".

Limits per hectare

The maximum grape yield is 18 tonnes per hectare for the DOC and 13.5 for both DOCGs. In Conegliano Valdobbiadene it falls to 13.0 tonnes for the Rive mention and to 12.0 for Superiore di Cartizze. The grape-to-wine yield is also lower in the DOCGs: 70%, with any excess up to 75% losing the denomination. In the DOC the limit is 75%, with the same loss for the share up to 80%.

The minimum planting densities are 2,300 vines per hectare for new DOC vineyards, 2,500 for Conegliano Valdobbiadene and 3,000 for new Asolo plantings.

Styles and sweetness: spumante, frizzante, still, rosé, sui lieviti

The three denominations do not allow the same styles.

• Prosecco DOC: four styles, namely Prosecco (the still wine), spumante, spumante rosé and frizzante.
• Conegliano Valdobbiadene: still wine, frizzante and spumante, which the rules call superiore, plus the "sui lieviti" version.
• Asolo Prosecco: still wine, frizzante, spumante and spumante "sui lieviti", with no Rive or Cartizze.

In the DOC, spumante (fully sparkling wine) is made only by natural fermentation in a pressurised tank (autoclave) and is sold from brut nature to demisec. The rosé requires 85 to 90% Glera and 10 to 15% Pinot nero vinified as a red wine, at least 60 days of making in the tank, and only the sweetness levels from brut nature to extra dry. Frizzante (lightly sparkling wine) is made in the bottle or in the tank. Spumante and frizzante go on sale from 1 January of the year after the harvest.

In the two DOCGs, spumante ranges from extra brut to demi-sec and frizzante from secco to amabile (dry to off-dry). The "sui lieviti" (on the lees) version is a spumante refermented in the bottle without removing the fermentation sediment, made from wines of a single vintage. Refermentation starts between 1 March and 30 June after the harvest, with an initial overpressure of no more than 0.5 bar, and the wine stays at least ninety days on its lees. It is sold as brut nature, and in Conegliano Valdobbiadene its grapes are picked by hand. The same rules on refermentation and time on the lees apply to Asolo. Neither Asolo nor Conegliano Valdobbiadene allows a rosé.

Superiore, Rive and Cartizze

In everyday use "Prosecco Superiore" means the two DOCGs. The Prosecco DOC does not provide for the term, and its rules forbid any qualification other than those listed. In Conegliano Valdobbiadene the spumante is "superiore", but the rules allow both the word Prosecco and the term superiore to be left off: the label may simply read "Conegliano Valdobbiadene" or "Valdobbiadene". For Asolo, the spumante label pairs the denomination with the term superiore.

Rive

Rive is a term exclusive to the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG. It means the grapes come from one of the 43 additional geographical units listed in annex A of the rules, grouped by municipality: in the municipality of Valdobbiadene, for example, San Vito, Bigolino, San Giovanni, San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Guia. The rules require:

• hand harvesting;
• a maximum yield of 13.0 tonnes per hectare;
• a minimum total alcohol of 11.5%;
• release from 1 March of the year after the harvest;
• the vintage on the label, which may not be combined with "sui lieviti".

Superiore di Cartizze

Superiore di Cartizze is a subzone: the spumante must come from grapes picked in the part of the hamlet of San Pietro di Barbozza, in the municipality of Valdobbiadene, known as Cartizze. The rules describe it as a subzone of only 106 hectares. Hand harvesting, a yield of 12.0 tonnes per hectare, a minimum total alcohol of 11.5% and winemaking within the municipality of Valdobbiadene all apply. On the label it appears as "Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze" or simply "Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze".

Alcohol, acidity and minimum thresholds

The minimum natural alcoholic strength of the grapes is 9.5% for the still wine in all three denominations. For grapes intended for spumante and frizzante the DOC lowers it to 9.0%. The DOCGs allow 9.0% for grapes intended for spumante (and, in Conegliano Valdobbiadene, for frizzante too). Asolo requires the intended use to be declared in the cellar records. For Rive and Cartizze the natural minimum stays at 9.5%.

At sale, the minimum total alcoholic strength is 10.5% for still and frizzante wines in all three denominations and 11.0% for spumante (rosé included). In Conegliano Valdobbiadene it rises to 11.5% for Rive and Cartizze spumante. These are laboratory thresholds that the buyer does not see on the label.

How to choose a bottle by reading the label

When choosing a bottle of Conegliano Valdobbiadene or Asolo, three things are worth checking.

• The order of the words. In the DOCGs the place name comes first: Conegliano Valdobbiadene, Conegliano, Valdobbiadene or Asolo, with the word Prosecco after it in the same size of lettering or smaller. Conegliano Valdobbiadene also carries a collective mark of the producers' consortium, printed on the neck strip that replaces the state seal.
• The sweetness style, which sets how sweet the wine is: brut nature, extra brut, brut, extra dry, dry or demi-sec.
• The label terms. Rive and Superiore di Cartizze mean a more precise origin, hand harvesting and lower yields, while "sui lieviti" means refermentation in the bottle with the sediment left in, which can make the wine slightly hazy.

A Prosecco DOC may mention "Treviso" only if all the grapes come from that province and the wine is made there too.

The rules set the permitted sweetness range: the DOC from brut nature to demisec, its rosé up to extra dry, the two DOCGs from extra brut to demi-sec, with brut nature reserved for "sui lieviti". Anyone looking for a dry wine can therefore find one in every denomination. The rules contain no prices, and this page gives none.