A style worth checking out…
by Andrew Chalk
Col Vetoraz typifies a small but highly significant rank of producers in Italy’s Prosecco denominated area who are focusing on moving Prosecco up the quality scale to compete with other top-tier sparkling wines of the world in the super-premium category.
Col Vetoraz produces only DOCG quality Prosecco. Most Prosecco (90%+) carries the DOC quality designation. DOC is good, but DOCG means concrete measurable differences in the wine.
A smaller, specific vineyard area;
Hillside rather than lowland vineyards;
More demanding cultivation (hand-harvesting only);
All Prosecco has improved in recent years. It is no longer, in any sense, just a mixer for Bellini cocktails. In the U.S. market, in particular, we are spoiled for choice. Buyers seeking the best Prosecco should look for DOCG examples and Col Vetoraz is a specific example of aspirational winemaking that is worth seeking out.
Here are some words on what their mission means directly from the winery.
We do produce what we are: only "Valdobbiadene Docg"
Col Vetoraz explain the reasons of a courageous choice, in the name of its territorial identity
Welcome to the land of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, a denomination with a unique scenario where everything is ‘superiore’ and speaks the language of excellence. It is here that the bubbles of Col Vetoraz originate, a wine company that by choice produces exclusively Valdobbiadene DOCG wines, and the only company of the entire denomination located on the highest point of the homonymous hill, at 400 meters, among the famous hills from which originates the Superiore di Cartizze.
The CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE DOCG denomination is an enchanting hilly area, equidistant between sea and mountains, just 50 km from Venice and 50 km from the Dolomites. Here, for over eight centuries, the population has cultivated the vine from which Prosecco Superiore originated, whose success began with the foundation of the first Italian Oenological School in 1876. Fifteen municipalities are part of this natural amphitheater, which winds between steep hilly slopes embroidered by vineyards, which boasts a centuries-old winemaking tradition, a mild climate thanks to the protection from the cold north winds given by the nearby mountains, and a soil rich in minerals. Elements that together have made it an ideal habitat for the Glera grape, that is processed and harvested entirely by hand.
In 2009, with the reorganization of the Prosecco denominations, the Minister of Agriculture classified this area as the Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin (Prosecco Superiore DOCG), the highest level of quality for Italian wines,
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