In Search of Quality Prosecco
Prosecco has a reputation, as light, easy, unpretentious. The type of wine you open on a Tuesday because it's there, because it's cheap, and because its a crowd pleaser. And honestly? For most of the Prosecco in the world, that reputation is fair. But here's the thing: that version of Prosecco is not the whole story. Not even close.
Somewhere behind the big brands and the supermarket shelves, there is a different kind of Prosecco. One that is made by families who have farmed the same steep hillsides for generations, who have no interest in scaling up, and whose wines carry the kind of freshness, minerality, and finish that stop you mid-sip with amazement. The kind of Prosecco that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about the category. That is the Prosecco we want to talk about and introduce you to today.
Misconceptions About Prosecco
Walk into most wine shops and the Prosecco shelf tells the same story. Big names, familiar labels, same old flavor bottle after bottle after bottle. And that is exactly the problem. When buyers stock shelves, they stock what sells, and what sells is what people already know. The result? The best Proseccos rarely make it that far out of Italy. Not because they are not good enough, but because the category has been defined by its most basic (and let’s be honest, cheapest) expression. Most consumers have simply never had the chance to taste the other side of it. The artisan side.
And that is exactly the other side is worth finding. We are talking about wines with real depth: genuine freshness, a sapid edge, mineral character, and a finish that lingers in a way that cheap Prosecco never does. The kind of thing that makes a buyer pause and a guest ask questions: What is this?! This is true artisan Prosecco, and they are not wines for a Tuesday, but they can be bottles for the moments worth marking and celebration.
Types of Prosecco
Not all Prosecco is made the same way, and that matters more than most people realize. While the majority of what you find on shelves is made using the Charmat method (the bubbles are created in large pressurized tanks), clean and fruit-forward. It is true that most Prosecco is made this way, but even within this method, there are ways artisan winemakers can work carefully with smaller batches, rather than the building sized millions upon millions of liter tanks that a commercial producer might use.
And there is another way too, an older way. Col Fondo is the ancestral way, where the bubbles are created by refermenting directly in the bottle, left on its lees (the wine may appear slightly cloudy because of this), and so it can have a texture and depth that tank-fermented Prosecco simply cannot replicate. It is what Prosecco looked like before industrialization took over. And it is making a quiet, serious comeback in the heart of the Prosecco area. The name itself tells us a bit of what to expect, col fondo in Italian literally translates to “with the lees”, referring to the non-disgorged nature of this style of ancient winemaking.
Then there is the place of course. Not all Prosecco comes from the same land; wine that can be labeled as “prosecco” can actually come from a huge area covering three different Italian regions! This huge of an area actually covers every type of terrain, from totally flatland to steep hills. There is an important distinction to be made too about where the grapes are grown: that flatland, or the traditional hills?
And so, it is around the hilly area of Valdobbiadene where the serious stuff grows. Here we find steep hillsides, dramatic terrain, and families who have been farming the same plots for generations. In fact, this is where our two Vero Producers of Prosecco call home.
Col del Balt sits in the rolling hills adjacent to Cartizze, one of the most prestigious subzones in all of Valdobbiadene, and not far from the town of Valdobbiadene itself. Classic, precise, and deeply expressive of where it comes from. Zanon is rooted in Valdobbiadene Storico, the historic heart of the appellation, with some of the steepest vineyards in the region. His col fondo wines are natural, textured, and unlike almost anything else you will find in the category.
Two producers, two very different expressions. Both making quality Prosecco worth knowing. But why do we call them “quality” driven wines?
What is Quality in Wine and Prosecco
Quality in wine is one of those things that can feel abstract until you taste it. But there are real, tangible markers, and in all honesty, given the diversity and ubiquitousness of “cheap” low quality Prosecco, learning what quality truly tastes and feels like through Prosecco is a great place to start. Now, true quality comes down to a few things that have nothing to do with price tags or back label descriptions, but rather what is behind the bottle, before wine ever enters the picture.
Our first marker will be the land. A wine that comes from a specific place, a particular slope or a particular microclimate or a particular family's decisions over decades, will always taste different from one designed to be consistent across millions of bottles or coming from huge swaths of land (remember how Prosecco can be made across not one, but three different Italian regions?). A quality wine tastes like somewhere. Cheap wine tastes like every other wine, and at the same time nothing special in particular.
Then it comes down to the person who made it: how do they allow their land to be represented, how do the hands behind the bottle work?
Col del Balt is a three-generation family operation. Two brothers, deeply rooted in their land near Cartizze, with no ambition to grow beyond what they can do well. They are not chasing volume, but rather they are chasing the best possible expression of their particular corner of Valdobbiadene. That intentional smallness is not a limitation; it is the very thing that defines their wines and the way they work, as we discovered in our VeroTalk with the brothers. They craft classic DOCG Proseccos (or the best of the best), fermented in stainless steel tanks, both their Valdobbiadene Superiore Brut and Valdobbiadene Superiore Extra Dry are superb examples of what quality Prosecco should be. Of course, they pay homage to history too, the the col fondo Codolà.
Zanon works his steep hillside vineyards in the historical heart of what he calls “Valdobbiadene Storico” with a natural wine sensibility, making col fondo the way it has always been made. That is, by hand, with patience, and with a deep respect for the ancient land beneath his feet. Once upon a time, cows roamed freely through his vines, and that relationship with the land and preservation of his soil is still very much alive in every bottle he makes. His is a story of going against the grain in a category dominated by easy answers, and it is one well worth reading. While he does make a col fondo wine with a rare and unique grape, Boschera, his take on the glera grape that makes Prosecco is his wonderfully complex Col Fondo.
So how do you find Prosecco like this? Honestly, it is hard to do alone because a lot of smaller artisan producers don’t necessarily advertise, or even export. They do not have big distribution budgets or staff, and they rarely make it into a standard wine shop shelf. This can become a cycle that is very hard to break: people can only buy what is stocked, and shelves are only stocked with the usual same stuff. So how can one discover something new? Well, what it takes is someone who has done the legwork: they have visited and talked to the producer, walked the vineyards, tasted the wines, and only selected those producers and wines that genuinely deliver quality in the glass. That is exactly what we do at Vero, after all, we exist to find these hidden gems so you don't have to.
Time to Experiment and Discover the Quality
Prosecco is one of the most recognizable wines in the world, and yet, for most people, the best of it remains completely out of reach. Not because it doesn't exist, but because nobody told them where to look. That is what we are here for, we seek out the producers who are doing something real: small families, specific places, wines that taste like somewhere. And once you taste them, the everyday bottle starts to feel like a very different thing entirely.
This other, artisan, side of Prosecco is worth crossing over to and experiment with. For that, we can help you out: browse the Prosecco shop category for our full selection of artisan crafted, quality Proseccos (and even a few gift sets) from artisan Prosecco producers Col del Balt and Zanon.
For those of you that know our curation style, you know that we love to support small producers and bring you unique and fun wines, and specialty foods. And you can enjoy these curations by trying a selection of different wines, foods, and olive oils from our portfolio. We sell to both businesses and consumers across the US:
We are enlarging our network of distributors around the country. Reach out to us if you are interested in distributing our products.
We sell to wine stores and restaurants in certain states - contact us if you would like more info.
We do corporate gifts and sommelier guided wine tastings. Email us and we’ll tailor unique and sustainable corporate gift ideas.
If our farm crafted wines, specialty foods, and olive oils are not in your local shop or restaurant buy wine online hereand we’ll ship it to you, and we ship to most states.
We also have an award winning wine club for true wine explorers seeking to continually discover unique, sustainable and authentic small production wines they never had.Col del Balt is a three-generation family operation. Two brothers, deeply rooted in their land near Cartizze, with no ambition to grow beyond what they can do well. They are not chasing volume — they are chasing the best possible expression of their particular corner of Valdobbiadene. That intentional smallness is not a limitation; it is the very thing that defines their wines and the way they work.
Made from Glera grapes in one of the best areas for Prosecco, Valdobbiadene, this is a crisp, clean delicious dry Prosecco DOCG with a light yellow color and lovely effervescence. It has notes of pear with a minerally flavor and a citrusy, slight bitter finish reminding you of the rich terroir where this wine comes from. This Col del Balt Brut Prosecco made by the Sanzovo brothers has approximately 5g of residual sugar. As well, it is a special Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, meaning not only does it come from the select Valdobbiadene “heart” of Prosecco, but it is also from a singular vintage, not a blend of multiple vintages like many Proseccos.
“This is a wonderful DOCG Prosecco. It has very balanced fruit that intertwines with jasmine, green apple, and subtle herbal notes. The palate is elegant with soft, lazy bubbles winding to the top of the glass. It is a joy on the palate, and the balance is undeniable. Such a good wine.” This is how VinePair describes this small production Prosecco in their curated list of the 20 Best Proseccos where this wine beat out all 20 with the highest rating of 93!
In fact, when we had first imported this wine, it was the first time it was in the US market. It took us a while to find a 'good' Prosecco, meaning one that had enough acidity to balance out the fruit along with one that had some personality, and all of Col del Balt Proseccos have great balance.
Made from glera grapes in one of the best areas for Prosecco, Valdobbiadene, this high quality Prosecco has fruity aromas that remind you of fruit cocktail. Its taste is fresh, balanced, nice fruit and minerality with a round mouthfeel and pleasant finish. This extra dry white sparkling wine has approximately 14 grams of natural residual sugar which you don’t taste at all since the acidity balances out the natural sugars.
As well, the new arrival is to be a special Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, meaning not only does it come from the select Valdobbiadene “heart” of Prosecco, but it is also from a singular vintage, not a blend of multiple vintages like many Proseccos.
Before this 'modern era' of Proseccos made with the Charmat method, Prosecco was made with the ancestral method, like this wine, Codolà, where fermentation takes place in the bottle, and it is not disgorged. This means that the wine is unfiltered since it is on its lees. In Italy it is also called a Col Fondo sparkling wine and in the US, we use the French term ‘Pet Nat’ to describe this wine. This results in a white sparkling wine whose aromas and flavors continue to evolve while they are in the bottle. This Col del Balt white sparkling wine made by the Sanzovo brothers has a straw yellow color with lots of fine bubbles and green herb and pear aromas with a hint of lemon zest. It has 0 residual sugar and it tastes dry and clean, with a slightly bitter, lemon rind tasting, finish.
A 100% glera grape white sparkling wine made with native yeast fermentation, this natural wine vintage “prosecco” is from vineyards in the old part of Valdobbiadene, made also in the historic tradition of the ancestral style, or Pet Nat, as it is bottle fermented on the lees. A light color, giving an early hint to its bright acidity, the bouquet of citrus and lemon flowers bursts forth in the glass once it opens. When tasting this ancestral method natural wine, apricots and persistent bubbles create a sparkling wine that is enjoyable with brunch, aperitivos , get-togethers, you name it.
The circle and dot logo represents both the human existence and evolution, as well as winemaker Eros Zanon’s personal view of his vineyards, a dot of small-production boutique quality in the larger circle of large-production Proseccos.
Explore Valdobbiadene, the Prosecco capital of Italy through these two sparkling wines from Col del Balt | Sanzovo. With these two wines you'll taste a delicious, crisp Prosecco Superiore and a Prosecco made in the original style known as the ancestral method, col fondo and pet nat.
Shipping is included in the Continental US for this set, and anything else in your order, so stock up! As well, for a limited time only, we will include for free a patented Professional Sparkling Wine Stopper (a $14.99 value) with your purchase of this set.
Included in this box are:
Experience natural Prosecco made like an unfiltered champagne, refermented in the bottle with 100% glera aka “the Prosecco grape”.
This 2 bottle set is made by small artisan farmer wineries both located in Valdobbiadene, the area of the Prosecco wine region known for some of the best Proseccos out there.
It’s a wine gift basket great for curious wine lovers and someone who loves unique dry bubbly. For a limited time only, we will include for free a patented Professional Sparkling Wine Stopper (a $14.99 value) with your purchase of this set.
Included in this box are:
Plus shipping in the Continental US is included and add-ons have free shipping, so stock up!
