"Come quickly, I am tasting the stars." Dom Perignon
After lunch, we arranged to meet Carlo the next morning to taste the Zucchetto Prosecco and headed off to visit Bisol in Santo Stefano. Bisol, a producer whose Prosecco I have enjoyed over the years in the US, is one of a hand full of producers making methodo classico from the glera grape. An ancient winery with a history documented back to 1542, Bisol is also distinguished from many other large producers, in that they grow, harvest, and produce their wines from their own 20 vineyards representing approximately 100 hectares. (Bisol makes approximately 2.5 M bottles of Prosecco a year.)
Third on our tasting menu was the Bisol Private Cartizze, Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze. This is a non dosage spumante made from 100% glera grapes and bottle aged for 11 months. As the name indicates, this is a special and elegant Prosecco with approximately 1,769 numbered bottles produced each year. In the tradition of Cristal champagne, Bisol Private Cartizze comes in a clear bottle with a very distinctive, manually braded closure and a wrapping of light tissue paper. It's distinctive packaging perfectly presents this distinctive wine. In the glass the color is a light straw yellow with an energetic and persistent perlage. The nose emits an underlying hint of bread crust topped with fruits and herbs. This is a dry and balanced Prosecco which retains the mineralness of the glera grape. While this Prosecco has been bottle aged, it has been in the bottle for fewer than one year thus it is not truly a methodo classico. For anyone looking for a Prosecco that is definitely a cut above the norm, this could be what you are looking for, but you might have to go to Italy to find it. This is definitely a special occasion wine, so I am wondering what day I can declare as special to pop the cork.
For more information about the Bisol winery, visit their website at www.bisol.it . You can find Bisol Crede in the United States on www.wine-searcher.com.
Return next week for more wine tasting along the Prosecco road.