Advertisement

Prosecco knocks the fizz out of French rival

The Local Italy
The Local Italy - [email protected]
Prosecco knocks the fizz out of French rival
Prosecco was accredited with the DOGC (controlled designation of origin) quality assurance label in 2009. Photo: Dinner Series/Flickr

Italy's famous sparkling wine, prosecco, is outselling its French rival, champagne, in global sales.

Advertisement

Prosecco, which is produced in vineyards that make up a valley north of Venice, outsold champagne in 2013 by 307 million bottles to 304, according to figures released on Friday by OVSE, the Italian wine observatory.

Worldwide revenue from the drink was up 16 percent, while volume increased by 11.5 percent.

Sales of Prosecco have been rising steadily in recent years as the credit crunch knocked the bubbles out of the pricier Champagne. A record 339 million bottles of champagne were sold in 2007 before the financial crisis gripped the market a year later.

Prosecco has become the tipple of choice across the world, particularly in the US and UK, where sales have been booming over the last few years, particularly during the festive period.

The sparkling wine is usually made from Glera grapes and was the original wine used in the Bellini (sparkling wine and peach puree) cocktail.

In 2009, it was accredited with the DOGC (controlled designation of origin) quality assurance label. 

Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also