Photograph: Patrick Caseley. Map: Maggie Nelson
TRAVEL: PROSECCO AND VENICE
My perfect day in Prosecco
Morning
The Decanter travel guide to
Conegliano-Valdobbiadene
Prosecco & Venice, Italy
When visiting Venice, ensure
you make time to explore the
Prosecco DOCG, to stock up on
great wines as well as gourmet
fare. Fiona Sims takes a trip
FACT FILE
Planted area 6,577ha
Main grapes Glera,
Verdiso, Perera and
Bianchetta
Production (2013)
72,420,570 bottles
Main soil types clay and
limestone
www.prosecco.it
IT’S JUST A 30-minute drive north from Venice
airport to Conegliano in Prosecco country. Yet
visitors flock eastwards in their millions to
the famous city in the nearby lagoon, ignoring
the gentle hills whose wines have brazenly
nudged Champagne off its perch, selling more
bottles globally for the first time last year.
They’re missing out. It makes a great contrast
to do both. Spend the first couple of days
sedately cruising the pretty, vine-clad foothills,
dotted with Palladian palazzos, former
summer homes of the wealthy merchants of
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Venice, and refuelling in the good-value
trattorias with the region’s distinctive meaty
cuisine. Then finish your trip, blissfully
car-free, by exploring the canals in search of
Venice’s unique bacari (Prosecco bars) and
enjoying the lagoon’s bountiful seafood. It’s all
about Prosecco here too, from the lauded
bellini to the humble spritz.
There are many reasons for Prosecco’s
ascendancy – but in a nutshell, we like our
bubbles and most of us don’t want to pay too
much, or even think about it too much. Even at
the very top level, single-vineyard Prosecco
DOCG (the highest quality tier) won’t break
the bank, and yes, there is complexity to be
had, even ageing potential.
Not that Prosecco wants to be compared to
Champagne – it’s an entirely different fizz.
Made from the Glera grape, at its best it has
drink-me sweetness, with a mineral, savoury
Above: an aerial view of Graciano Merotto’s
vineyards in the Prosecco DOCG
flavour and tight bubbles. Picking out the best
is another matter. You need to know (and most
people don’t) that the really good DOCG stuff
comes from the steep slopes between
Conegliano and Valdobbiadene – and this is
where we are heading.
The dramatic hillside of Cartizze doesn’t
disappoint. The most expensive vineyard in
Italy produces the best wines in the DOCG. It’s
tiny – just 106 hectares, and occupies an entire
southwest-facing slope that tumbles from its
summit in the hamlet of Santo Stefano down
into a steep patchwork of tiny terraced parcels
to the Piave River valley below.
Huge respect goes to all those who work
these perilously steep hills, on the waiting list
for UNESCO World Heritage status. Ruggeri is
one such producer (www.ruggeri.it) and when
you visit, you can admire the gnarled Glera
vines that have helped to make its name,
planted alongside minor varieties, Bianchetta,
Perera and Verdiso. Ruggeri’s Giustino B is
unexpectedly complex, and older vintages
help to challenge the long-held view that
Prosecco is only fresh, young and fruity.
Over breakfast the next day at Villa
Barberina (owned by Nino Franco; ➢
Trattoria Alla Cima
Feast on delectable homemade
wild herb and cheese pie after a
morning swim at Villa Barberina*.
Drop by a local market (there’s one
for every day of the week here) and
stock up on the local sopressa – an
aged salami – before an arranged
visit to Nino Franco (www.
ninofranco.it) to try its singlevineyard Proseccos. Then work up
an appetite for lunch with a steep
climb up the hill to San Floriano
church to get the lay of the land.
Lunch
Take a drive to the other side of
town to dine at Trattoria Alla Cima*,
with its open-fire cooking and
melt-in-the-mouth beef tagliata,
washed down with the region’s
little-known reds. That’s after a
plate of casatella: cheese-stuffed
tortelli paired with brut Prosecco.
For something a little more
creative, head to Salis* and its
all-Prosecco list with its matching,
soufflé-like sformatino with wild
herbs, followed by nettle-stuffed
guinea fowl.
Prosecco col fondo wines made by
the traditional fermentation-in
the-bottle process, lees and all.
Then stop and gaze out over the
vertiginous, hallowed Cartizze
vineyard, before motoring on
higher still to Follina.
Evening and overnight
Afternoon
It’s a 20-minute drive from Cartizze
to Follina, where you can lay your
head and scoff smart nosh at the
wonderfully quirky, family-run
Hotel Villa Abbazia*. This boasts a
full-on tearoom, and a Michelin
one-star restaurant, complete with
Prosecco-heavy wine list. Leave
enough time to visit the famous
cloistered Cistercian abbey
opposite.
Visit Valdobbiadene-based
boutique winery Fasol e Menin
(www.fasolmenin.it) and sample its
For more details on places marked
with an asterisk (*), turn to p121
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TRAVEL: PROSECCO AND VENICE
Your Prosecco address book
Photographs: Belmond; Mattia Mionetto; Stefan Espenhahn/Alamy; Ruggeri; Arcangelo Piai
Hotels
Villa Barberina
Clockwise from top left:
stunning water views
from the Oro restaurant
at the Belmond Hotel
Cipriani; Borgoluce’s
Prosecco; Paolo Bisol
from Ruggeri; this
rescued vineyard is
the heart of Bisol’s
Venissa wine resort;
gourmet dishes abound
throughout the region;
the Naranzaria bar lies
just by the Grand Canal
www.ninofranco.it), winemaker Primo Franco
explains the need for an image change.
‘Consumers know the difference between cheap
and expensive Champagne, but the universal
image of Prosecco is that of a popular wine,’ he
says. ‘People need to know that everything is
done by hand in the DOCG, and that it’s a way
of life here.’
Just down the road is Fasol e Menin (www.
fasolmenin.it), one of the new breed of Prosecco
producers. Inspired by the Australian boutique
model, the winery holds regular music events
and art exhibitions, and is open every day for
tastings and tours.
As the afternoon sun disappears behind the
snow-capped Dolomites, we drive 20 minutes
south (nothing is more than 20 minutes away
in the DOCG) to the pretty town of Susegana
and the winery, osteria and agritourism
business of Borgoluce (www.borgoluce.it ). Here
you can enjoy Prosecco as well as cheese and
sausage from its own herd of buffalo, all
available from the popular restaurant, farm
shop and café and rural farmhouse B&B.
Even wineries that haven’t quite got the
wine tourist in mind know they need to play
the game if they want to change Prosecco’s
image – even if it’s just a battered mahogany
desk set up by the packing cases. This is where
we find Graciano Merotto (www.merotto.it) one
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Saturday morning holding forth to a group of
eager German visitors about his multi-award
winning, tissue-wrapped, wax-sealed, flagship
Prosecco – a snip compared to most decent
Champagne at £19.30.
Gourmet Venice
It’s not Champagne that greets you at the
legendary Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice
(see box right) – it’s DOCG Prosecco (Nino
Franco’s, in case you are wondering).
Prosecco is everything in Venice, from the
many bacari, with their increasingly inventive
cichetti (bar nibbles), to the ubiquitous bellini
cocktail that combines fresh peach juice and
Prosecco; it is consumed by the container-load
in piazzas throughout the city.
Armed with recommendations from the
region’s winemakers – another reason to travel
into the DOCG – we make tracks to Naranzaria
(www.naranzaria.it), hidden on a quiet kink in
the Grand Canal, to drink ‘spritz’ (Prosecco,
Aperol, a splash of soda and a wedge of fresh
orange) and nibble on artichoke cichetti,
watching the setting sun bounce off the
crumbling palazzos.
After, we move to the pavement terrace at
Osteria dai Zemei (www.ostariadaizemei.it) for
more stellar cichetti – salt cod is a favourite –
before finishing at the city’s oldest bacaro, the
Mazzorbo island, the Vaporetto stop
before the much-visited, multi-coloured
Burano. The (pricey) wine made from
grapes grown here is smart, sure, but
the Michelin-starred food is the real
winner – cooked by four head chefs.
www.venissa.it
This handsome 18th-century villa in the
heart of Valdobbiadene is owned by
well-regarded Prosecco producer Nino
Franco. It offers five huge, palazzo-style
bedrooms, plus a swimming pool set
among the vines. Don’t skip the splendid
breakfasts. www.villabarberina.it
Hotel Villa Abbazzia
Villa Barberina
Shops
Bar Alpina
It’s very much a family affair at this plush
Relais & Châteaux inn in Follina. It acts
as a hub for locals, who hang out in the
bar at the front, and a draw for food and
wine lovers, who enjoy the Michelinstarred finery in the courtyard
restaurant. www.hotelabbazia.it
Valdobbiadene with views out to the
sea, this local favourite was opened by
Antonio Rebuli in 1969. Now his son
Isidoro is at the helm, overseeing the
impressive wood-fired grill that takes
centre stage. www.trattoriacima.it
A winemaker hangout, and a great place
to slake your thirst with Prosecco after
climbing through the vineyards to the
San Floriano church above. Choose
bottles to take away from its enoteca
or eat in, feasting on polpette and
prosciutto. www.baralpino.it
Belmond Hotel Cipriani
Salis
A slick affair in the heart of the Cartizze
vineyard. It boasts a wine shop and
swimming pool, in addition to an
innovative restaurant that offers a strong
listing of DOCG Prosecco, complete with
pictures of winemakers and, helpfully,
full winery addresses and opening
times. www.salisristorante.it
Salumi de Stefani
A world apart from other luxury hotels,
the Cipriani is a five-minute boat ride
from St Mark’s Square on Giudecca
Island. Yes, it’s a celebrity haunt
(headed by George Clooney), but the
staff will treat you like family whoever
you are. Chef Davide Bisetto cooks in its
two Michelin-starred restaurant Oro.
www.belmond.com
Hotel Palazzo Abadessa
The 15-room Venetian palazzo may be a
fair hike from Venice’s main attractions
but it offers frescoed ceilings, polished
antiques and a lush garden in the quiet
Cannaregio area of the city, where you
can hang out (and eat) with the locals.
www.abadessa.com
Restaurants
Trattoria Alla Cima
Set in the DOCG Prosecco hills near
Osteria Borgoluce
It’s best to approach this buzzy eatery
after a 45-minute walk up through
Borgoluce’s 600-hectare Susegana
estate chestnut forest, which winds up
from its farmhouse B&B. Feast on
steamed fat white asparagus (when in
season), followed by Veneto Cabernetbraised buffalo. www.borgoluce.it
Venissa
Venice proper seems a world away from
the convent-like calm of the Bisol-owned
Venissa wine resort on surprisingly rural
postage-stamp sized All’Arco (Sestiere San Polo
436). You can do a spirited tour of cichetti bars
with www.venicebitesfoodtours.com.
And then it’s a Prosecco-friendly dinner at
the Cipriani’s Michelin two-starred Oro
restaurant that looks out over the water like a
prow on a ship, where chef David Bisetto has
returned to his native Veneto to do clever things
with the lagoon’s unique produce, brilliantly
paired with wines by Peru-born head sommelier
German Zavaleta Aguirre.
The next day we take the vaporetto to
It’s sausage heaven at this Guia-based
salumeria that supplies Valdobbiadene
and beyond. Highlights include the mild
ossocollo, the garlic-infused salado
trevisan and soft, intense sopressa
trevigiana. www.salumidestefani.it
Perenzin Latteria
There is cheese galore to enjoy from the
region, among them bastardo, which
mixes milk from sheep, goat and cow;
aromatic inbriago, which matures in
Prosecco grape pomace; and fresh,
delicate castatella trevigiana, available
at this San Pietro di Feletto cheese shop.
www.perenzin.com
How to get there
There are daily flights from most
major airports to Venice’s Marco
Polo, as well as regular trains to
Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia.
Mazzorbo island, where prominent
Valdobbiadene Prosecco producer Bisol (www.
bisol.it) has restored an abandoned vineyard
and created the ‘wine resort’ of Venissa: a
six-bedroom retreat set among the vines away
from the bustle of Venice, complete with
traditional trattoria and smart Michelin
one-starred restaurant, that shows off not just
its range of fizz, but the region as a whole.
Prosecco’s time has come – in the glass, at
least. Now the region needs to get more people
to visit and see what all the fuss is about. D
Fiona Sims is a
freelance wine,
food and travel
writer and author
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