Prosecco, coop-style: What do these tasters say? (#ItalianFWT)

If you live in farm country, you’re probably familiar with cooperatives. Here in Central Pennsylvania, we have a lot of dairy farms too small to survive on their own. So farmers join forces to market their milk to various plants in the area.

But I have to admit – until Kevin at Snarky Wine offered to host the upcoming Italian, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT) Twitter chat, I didn’t pay much attention to Italian wine cooperatives. Then I remembered writing about Citra in Abruzzo last year for another #ItalianFWT chat. At the time, I didn’t realize how widespread and essential cooperatives are to Italy’s wine industry.

This go-around, thanks to Susannah at avvinare and Prestige Wine Imports, I was fortunate to receive Val d’Oca samples from the Cantina Produttori di Valdobbiadene cooperative in the Veneto region of northeast Italy. This cooperative is one of the oldest producers of Prosecco.

Established in 1953, Cantina Produttori di Valdobbiadene is comprised of nearly 600 growers working approximately 2,000 acres of vineyards. Under the Val d’Oca label, the winery produces Prosecco DOC from vineyards in Treviso and high-end Prosecco Superiore DOCG from grapes grown in the hills of Valdobbiadene. For more on Prosecco DOCG, check out my recent post.

When the samples arrived just a few days before the deadline for this post, the spouse called a business associate to announce we had a “wine emergency.” Could she gather together a handful of people quickly to help us taste through three bottles of Prosecco?

Cheri rose to the challenge and quickly put together a small tasting party. And what do busy professionals order for an informal after-work dinner? Pizza, of course!

Please note that while the wines for this post were provided, participants’ opinions are their own.

Why a cooperative?

To understand and appreciate the role of Italian wine cooperatives, we need to travel back in time to the 1950s. While Italy’s oldest cooperatives were founded more than a century ago, they became more common following the devastation left by World War II and the exodus of farmers to cities.

Here are stats from a 2018 Forbes article on Italian wine cooperatives by Susan Gordon:

• In Italy, the average vineyard size is less than 5 acres per grower (compare with 27 acres in France and 68 acres in the U.S.).
• From 2013 to 2018, cooperatives’ exports grew by 44%, compared to Italy’s general wine export growth of 27%.
• Eight of the top performing 15 wineries in Italy were coops in 2018; eight of the top European coops were Italian, as reported by Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Meet the tasting crew

Cheri – Tennis-playing, dog-loving wine aficionada. Loves her Napa reds! Her chow, Ming, has its own square in the company’s Super Bowl pool.

Sean – Beloved Green Bay Packers missed the Super Bowl this year. But hey, how about that hometown kickball team? Back-to-back defending league champions.

Priscilla – Her sports car is a midlife dream come true! But needs a plane ticket to snorkel in places like the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Pete – In nirvana when the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup. Better than pickled herring on rye toast.

Let the tasting commence!

My Val d’Oca box included a DOC, a DOCG, and a rosé. What a great opportunity to taste the two white bubblies blind! Let’s find out if these tasters can detect differences and figure out which is the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Denomination of Controlled Origin) or DOC, and which is the higher-level Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin) or DOCG.

All three wines were labeled “extra dry,” which is off-dry in sparkling wine parlance. Also, the two whites had the same amount of residual sugar and the same bright straw color.

Wine #1: Val d’Oca Prosecco DOC Treviso (Extra Dry)
85% Glera, 15% Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay
Fermentation: Charmat (tank) method
Alcohol: 11%
Residual sugar: 15 g/l
Color: Bright straw
Price: ~$15

Cheri: “Apple.”
Priscilla: “Pear.” On the palate, “it has a beer/cidery bitter aftertaste.”
Pete got vanilla on the palate.
Sean: “Smooth-tasting.”

Wine #2: Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG (Extra Dry)
85% Glera, 15% Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay
Fermentation: Charmat (tank) method
Alcohol: 11%
Residual sugar: 15 g/l
Color: Bright straw
Price: ~$21

Cheri: “Not as apple-y – more Prosecco-y. I like the second one better.”
Priscilla got “lime” on the palate and no aftertaste this time.
Pete: “Yeasty, grassy, more body” on the palate.
Sean: “There’s more going on in my mouth with this one.”

Wine #3: Val d’Oca Sparkling Rosé (Extra Dry)
A non-DOC blend of white and red grapes
Fermentation: Charmat (tank) method
Alcohol: 11.5%
Residual sugar: 10 g/l
Color: Light salmon
Price: ~$16

Priscilla: “Fruity, flowery.”
Pete: “Berries.”
Sean: “Raspberry.”
Cheri: “Too sweet – I like dry rosé.”

Three out of four guessed Wine #1 was the DOC and Wine #2 the DOCG. The group’s preferences were split down the middle. My take? Both white bubblies were good representatives of their DOC and DOCG zones, and the rosé was a fun but not-too-serious wine. Thanks, gang!

Hope you can join us for the Twitter chat on Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 11 am ET. Simply follow the #ItalianFWT hashtag. Meanwhile, check out the various posts on Italian wine cooperatives:

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla features Hardworking Kids, Fresh Pasta, and a Red Wine from Vallevò.
• Cindy at Grape Experiences shares On Wine Co-ops, Sicily’s Cantine Settesoli and Mandrarossa Winery.
• Gwen at Wine Predator matches 3 Bottles of Bubbles from Italy’s Val D’Oca Paired with Butternut Crab Bisque and Polenta Shrimp.
• Jane at Always Ravenous is Popping the Corks on Cooperative Prosecco.
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! posts The Italian Wine Cooperative Surprise
• Jen at Vino Travels Italy talks about Italian Wine Cooperatives with Prosecco from Val d’Oca.
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures offer Cincinnato – A Cooperative in Lazio Focused on Native Grapes.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass gives us Prosecco, Coop-Style: What Do These Tasters Say?
• Liz at What’s in That Bottle asks What’s Up with Italian Wine Cooperatives?
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest talks about the Alpine Wine Cooperative – How Things Roll in Alto Adige.
• Marcia at Joy of Wine writes about Cooperetiva Produttori del Barbaresco.
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings says Celebrate Chinese New Year, Observe Italian wine coop evolution, OMG yummy Prosecco!
• Susannah at Avvinare is Visiting Lake Garda through the wines of Cantina Colli Morenici.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm pours Godendo Aperitivo Prima di Cena.
• Nicole of Somm’s Table penned The History of Amarone at Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, and Domìni Veneti Amarone Classico with Decadent, Braised Lamb Shanks.