I didn’t know much about Prosecco from Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG but it’s an area I have been exploring a bit these past few years. Asolo is a town located in the Veneto, in the rocky hills south of the Dolomite mountains at the foot of Monte Grappa and west of the Piave river.

The wines come from 19 communes that form a crown around the town of Asolo. The area is 20,000 hectares, the Asolo hills and the Montello plain. Just like in Valdobbiadene, the viticulture in these hills is done by hand and is extreme, also known as heroic viticulture. The wines are made using the Charmat or tank method also known in Italy as the Martinotti method who discovered. They make about 20 million bottles a year, a nice production compared with Prosecco DOC which makes around 650 million bottles a year. Glera, a delicate grape does well in the charmat method which retains its primary fruit aromas.

Asolo received DOCG status in June 2009 and was the very first of the Prosecco denominations to allow an Extra Brut version. The wines of Asolo have been famous since the Venetian republic although the town of Asolo and its wines were known as far back as the Romans and were widely recognized in the Middle Ages.

The area’s soils are profound and rich in organic material. The climate here is influenced by winds that come from the Adriatic sea and the area is blessed with significant thermal excursion. Wines must be made from 85% Glera and the other 15% can be Bianchetta Trevigiana, Verdiso, Perera, and Glera lunga.

The Consortium was founded in 1985 and supervises the denominations of Asolo Prosecco Superiore Docg, Montello Rosso Docg and Montello Colli Asolani Doc, all three of these are from the Treviso province. The wines since 2020 are called Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOGG and Vini del Montello DOCG and Montello Colli Asolani DOC.

There are also red grapes here that go into the red wines. These are largely grown on the plains. A new subzone was accepted called Montello Rosso, Venegazzù. There are international grapes as well as a grape that was recently saved from extinction called Recantina. Still a much smaller denomination then some of the other Prosecco denominations, in 2019, 17 million bottles of Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG were produced.

There are many amazing producers of Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Many of these producers also make Prosecco in the other denominations such as Prosecco DOC and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG. Asolo seems to be an incredibly beautiful town and I can’t wait to visit. Until then, I encourage you to look at the Consortium website.

This is the second in my repostings of recent articles about Italian sparkling wines. Look for the other 5-6 areas that make sparkling wines in Il Bel Paese soon. Can you name all the sparkling wine regions of Italy and which grapes/methods they use?