Celebrate with a glass of this $16 sparkling rosé
Like most Proseccos, this version is a touch sweeter than “brut” sparkling wines, with flavors of strawberry lemonade and pink lady apples.
Prosecco is one of the world’s most popular sparkling wines and one that has recently restructured its regulatory framework to allow for the production of delightful rosé versions like this one.
An innovation of the 19th century, all prosecco was originally white. The wine was made in northern Italy using the “charmat” production method, which is much faster and cheaper than French Champagne. The green grape used in these wines was originally named after the Prosecco hills that lie roughly an hour’s drive north of Venice. However, in a bid to allow the term Prosecco to be regulated and protected under Europe’s regional appellation system, 21st-century vintners in the region banded together to re-name their grape “glera.” This shrewd move allowed the region’s producers to regain control of the name Prosecco, which cleared the way for a product that the world clearly wanted: a pink version of their fresh and fruity Prosecco.
Some Prosecco producers had been making an unregulated rosé for years, but the region’s consortium of winemakers recently formalized Prosecco Rosé as a legally-controlled “denominazione di origine controllata” or D.O.C. These rules forbid the use of any other grape than pinot noir in a bid to improve quality, and the results taste pretty terrific. Like most Proseccos, this version is a touch sweeter than “brut” sparkling wines, with flavors of strawberry lemonade and pink lady apples. Its color and flavor make it perfect for entertaining, but also ideal for sweet and sour sauces or those with a kick of spicy heat.
La Marca Prosecco Rosé Veneto, Italy
$15.99; 11% alcohol
PLCB Item #98896
Sale price through 11/27 – regularly $17.99
Also available at at these New Jersey stores:
Joe Canal’s Hammonton Discount Liquor Outlet in Hammonton, $15.01, joecanalshammonton.com; Traino’s Wine & Spirits in Marlton, $15.97, trainoswine.com; Wine Warehouse in Clementon, Voorhees, and Mantua, $15.98; blackwood.winewarehousenj.com/, voorhees.winewarehousenj.com/, and mantua.winewarehousenj.com/