Venetian effervescence

If we talk about Veneto bubbles-what comes to mind? Unashamedly, 99% of us will think of Prosecco, whether Doc or Docg Superiore. The 1% will be silent, perhaps because they are teetotalers...

Yet the effervescent Veneto is not just Prosecco. 

A lot of metodo classico are popping up like mushrooms! So let's immediately review the main characteristics of the two methods. When we talk about Prosecco we are talking about a sparkling wine from autoclave refermentation of Glera grapes, which are considered semi-aromatic. The autoclave technique enhances the aromaticity of Glera, transforming, in a short time, the base wine into an elegant, fragrant, creamy, versatile product with a casual, everyday drinking experience.

The classic method, on the other hand, involves refermentation in the bottle, a process where contact with yeasts takes a decidedly central role and where the use of reserve wines becomes intriguing. This technique is enhanced through the use of neutral varieties, which is why Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (just to name a couple) almost always play a starring role. Both grapes with restrained aromatics, they give wines that can mature in wood providing complex and intriguing base wines. All neutral varieties, or nearly all, are potential good candidates for classic method production. And in addition to the internationals, when it comes to the Veneto, there is a lot of experimentation among the natives as well. 

But why produce a metodo classico when by vocation and historicity one is a rossista and bianchista? A first fact is that worldwide there has been (with particular importance in the last 5 years) an increase in consumption of white wines and bubbles at the expense of red wines that tend to be more complex and full-bodied; an important indicator that tells us that consumers increasingly want fresh and light wines.

Another element that I have been able to personally verify is that those who decide to produce metodo classico hide, more or less well, a very personal why. So here I have identified and scouted for you some classic methods that are not only to uncork but also all to tell.

Menegotti, Andrea and the classic method. 

To Andrea Menegotti, in the hinterland of Lake Garda in the province of Verona on the morainic hills of the Custoza and Bardolino DOCs, it just didn't sit well with him to make Garganega and Corvina wine "only" to produce Custoza and Bardolino DOC still wines. So it was that in '75 the family began with the first bottle refermentations, which today, with Andrea, account for as much as 25 percent of total production. Minimum 36 months for all, between 100% Garganega both extra dry and extra brut, a blend of Chardonnay and Corvina in white brut and a blanc de noir 100% Corvina pas dosé; today the winery can boast of giving voice to territory and local varieties also in a different way, decidedly effervescent, no less authentic. Of note is the value for money of the first two wines. 

We chose (click on the wine name to open the organoleptic sheet):

• Menegotti, Metodo Classico Pas Dosé 2015

Serafini & Vidotto, when stubbornness rhymes with extraction. 

Francesco Serafini and Antonello Vidotto, on the slopes of Montello in the province of Treviso, were for years stubborn in their attempt to extract color from the Pinot Noir grapes of a specific estate plot. Stubbornness and determination aside there was no technique that held; the duration and temperature of macerations could do little against that clone of Pinot that turned out to be specific to a sparkling wine base. It took an agronomist technician to clarify the arcane and the intervention of the new generation in the winery to begin producing a classic method. Matteo and Marco Serafini sign a 100% Pinot Noir, blanc de noir, on the 7000 bottles per year, cuvée of multiple vintages. First release 2023, elegantly named. It is called Marquise, after the cut of diamond that Louis XV had designed so that it would resemble the shape of the lips of his mistress, the woman for whom the precious jewel was intended. A story then of love, but more of passion, beauty, luxury and perfection destined to last. 

We chose (click on the name of the wine to open the organoleptic sheet):

• Serafini&Vidotto, Marquise Cuvée M16

Brigaldara, “a Volpina III”. 

Of stories to tell Stefano Cesari and Brigaldara always has plenty. I myself have been enchanted several times by his stories. But the story of Volpina III differs from the others; in fact, it is not about wine or vineyards. Instead, it celebrates another family passion, that of sailing. Volpina III is a, small, wooden sailboat; fascinating in her appearance but even more so in the vicissitudes she had to face not for seas but to return, after a long time, back to the ownership of Stephen and his family. The new classic method, vintage, 100% Corvina, zero dosage, was named after her. As chance would have it, or perhaps not, its release coincided with the "launch" of the new Agriturismo Locanda Case Vecie. Newborn nerve center for hospitality, eno and cycling tourism in Brigaldara. A few kilometers from the city, in the hills, also reachable on two wheels or on foot through European paths, surrounded by woods and vineyards. 

We chose (click on the name of the wine to open the organoleptic sheet):

• Brigaldara, Volpina III Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero 2020

The Tre Talestri, family expertise  

I conclude with an all-female story. They are the Three Talestri, three young sisters determined to establish themselves in the world of wine with a vision of their own made treasure of the teaching received from their father. Marcato in fact is a surname that tells us something in the field of bottle refermentation. Today the Talestri, in eastern Valpolicella straddling the valleys of Marcellise and Mezzane, produce Valpolicella appellation of origin wines and, putting the family history to good use, no less than two metodo classico wines. The names chosen for these two bubbles are quite evocative; they opted for Istinto for one and Ambizione for the pas dosè. An Ambition sprung all from native red grapes, vinified in white, from a pergola parcel that retains the freshness and drive it takes to support the 40-plus months on the lees. 

We chose (click on the name of the wine to open the organoleptic sheet):

• Talestri - Ambizione Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero 2016

Of course of similar stories I would have many more--and maybe a "part II" will follow. Some, however, I want to mention to you anyway. 

Such is the case with Luigi Bonotto's work-in-progress metodo classico rosé from Raboso grapes, Bonotto delle Tezze; it is not yet ready because the rabid acidity needs time to be tamed, but Luigi is in no hurry. 

In the province of Vicenza, in Breganze, there is Franca Miotti, Firmino Miotti winery, which instead experiments with Vespaiola and gives birth to Anima, exploiting all the power of the acidity of this native grape that is the real soul of vincentino. 

Returning to the Verona area, there is also Corte Quaiara, Giovanni Montresor is not afraid of stays on the lees and leaves us his blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for a good 120 months. Needless to say, the complexity is endless. 

I conclude with Bellenda (Conegliano) where Umberto Cosmo, in addition to Glera, also whispers to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the classic method Pluck, Würm and Saiph that are as extreme as they are exhilarating.

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