Prosecco’s low price-tag when compared with champagne is surely one reason for its recent surge in popularity. And the great thing is that cheap Prosecco – unlike cheap champagne, which can give you a nasty headache – can actually be very good. You can buy top-quality Prosecco for less than £10, and if you’re after something really special, then even a really exceptional bottle of Prosecco Superiore should set you back no more than £15.?????
Until 2009, a large portion of Italy’s Prosecco industry was geared towards mass production of cheap Prosecco for international export. Much of this cheap, mass-produced Prosecco was of a questionable quality, so in 2009 the Prosecco DOC and DOCG appellation system was introduced in order to limit Prosecco production to a small number of reputable producers. This new system has stopped producers outside the DOC and DOCG zones from labelling their sparkling wine as ‘Prosecco’ – consequently, Rich Prosecco (one such brand of cheap Italian sparkling wine, which comes in a classy gold can (of Paris Hilton fame) has (to their dismay) had to rename itself as ‘Rich Secco’.
