Why Drink Champagne When You Can Drink Prosecco?

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

I went to Italy with a girlfriend of mine last spring.  Lori was there to do research for her book and I gladly tagged along as her, ahem, “research assistant”. Lori has traveled to Italy on many occasions and is quite familiar with the Italian fare. She introduced me to the Italians’ answer to sparkling wine: Prosecco is dry, lemony and frizzante! I was hooked on my first sip. It was a perfect drink after a full day of walking around Rome. Italians consider it the ideal apperitivo. It is also, of course, used to make their famous cocktail, the Bellini.

Prosecco is created predominately with Prosecco grapes that grow in the foothills of the Alps, in the Northern Veneto region of Italy. It’s is light, fun and very affordable. It is now becoming widely available in stores and restaurants here in the United States and Canada. I can find a good bottle starting at $5.99, like Zonin sold at Trader Joe’s. Most brands are very good and under $20. I have never had a bad tasting Prosecco yet, since the grapes used are consistent and the production techniques vastly improved over previous years, all of which certainly accounts for the new popularity of this wine. Unlike, champagne, however, Prosecco does not age well and should be enjoyed within 2 years of being bottled. Compared to other sparkling wines, Prosecco is lower in alcohol, about 11 to 12 percent.

So, go out and get a bottle. Enjoy it with a friend.  Have a toast to the kids being back in school (not a minute too soon) and/or imagine yourself in Rome sipping Prosecco in one of the famous piazzas.