Prosecco: The ultimate buyer's guide

Not all Prosecco is created equal. The category ranges from inexpensive, easy-drinking fizz to wines with much greater complexity, individuality and sense of place.

So how can consumers navigate the different DOCs, DOCGs, sub-zones and styles?

A useful rule of thumb is that the more specific the information on the label, the more precise the wine’s origin and often its style and quality.

Here are the essential details on how to make sense of it all, and make choosing your next bottle less of a gamble.

Prosecco’s broad base

Let’s start with Prosecco DOC – short for denominazione di origine controllata (‘controlled designation of origin’).

It’s the largest and most successful of not just the Prosecco categories, but of all Italian sparkling wine categories, with more than 667 million bottles produced in 2025, according to data from the Prosecco DOC consorzio.

The Prosecco DOC planted area spans about 28,000 hectares across nine provinces within northern Italy’s two regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Prosecco DOC wines are made by fermenting the wine twice in stainless steel tanks.

The Italians call this ‘metodo Martinotti’ (otherwise known as the Charmat method), after the Italian oenologist who developed it in Asti, Piedmont, in 1895...

Grapes

Minimum 85% Glera; up to 15% other authorised grapes (including Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir).

Styles

Although it’s possible to find still (tranquillo) and semi-sparkling (frizzante) Prosecco, the vast majority is twice-fermented, fully sparkling (spumante).

Expect these wines to be relatively straightforward in style, with a floral bouquet of white flowers and flavours of apple, pear and citrus. They’re crowd-pleasing, versatile all-rounders.

Sweetness

There is some confusion caused by the labelling.

Because sparkling wine sugar classifications differ from those for still wines, brut is the drier style (up to 12 grams per litre of residual sugar); extra dry (12-17g/L) is actually what UK consumers would consider ‘off-dry’, and it will taste noticeably rounder and sweeter.

In the UK, most Prosecco DOC is either extra dry or brut.

You may recall seeing Treviso on some labels when searching for a Prosecco to buy.

This is a special geographical mention (see chart), which means the grapes must be grown only within the province of Treviso, north of Venice in the central-east of the Veneto region, where the wine will also be made and bottled.

It’s essentially a more specific area within the wider DOC: a geographical specificity which also carries an implication of higher quality in the bottle.

The pink revolution

Prosecco DOC Rosé has been an increasingly popular category since its introduction in 2020, outperforming expectations with more than 60 million bottles produced last year.

It’s made under tighter regulations compared to its non-rosé stablemate...

Grapes

Glera needs to account for between 85%-90% of the blend, with 10%-15% Pinot Noir.

Vintage only

Prosecco Rosé must be a single-vintage product (at least 85% of the grapes from the specified year’s harvest), which must be clearly stated on the label.

Style

Available in spumante form only, it offers a drier profile filled with wild strawberry, red cherry and bright citrus notes.

Into the hills

To find Prosecco wines with genuine terroir definition, we must leave the flat plains of the DOC and climb the hillsides.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG

Take a breath before you try to say it: Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.

The ‘G’ (garantita) is all-important, guaranteeing stricter production regulations, including reduced yields and mandatory hand-harvesting.

The stunning terraced, clay-and-limestone vineyards of Conegliano Valdobbiadene – a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019 – are often too steep for modern machinery.

The manual work that goes into caring for these vineyards and the grapes they produce are the primary reason the price is often steeper (no pun intended), resulting in superior flavour intensity, complexity and structural elegance.

Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG

Located on the south side of a stretch of the Piave river, Asolo is a smaller, lesser-known DOCG nestled in the hills of Asolo and Montello in Treviso, and offers a different expression of Prosecco Superiore: a less perfumed, beautifully structured and mineral-driven alternative to Conegliano Valdobbiadene.

Asolo is growing in popularity and shoppers are likely to see these bottles on the shelves more often in the future...

Grapes

Wines made in these DOCG zones must be a minimum of 85% Glera and can use up to 15% of local varieties such as Glera Lunga, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Verdiso and Perera, as well as international varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Noir.

Prosecco’s ‘grands crus’

For those looking to explore the peak of the region’s quality pyramid, Prosecco offers two highly specific designations...

Rive

This term denotes wine from one of 43 recognised steep hillside communes or hamlets within the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG zone.

Rive wines are always single-vintage, hand-harvested, and are even more strictly regulated. They offer a precise snapshot of a specific village microclimate.

Cartizze

This 107ha amphitheatre of steep hillside vineyards in Valdobbiadene traditionally produces the finest Prosecco.

Historically, Cartizze was made in a sweeter ‘dry’ style (17-32g/L residual sugar) to pair with cakes and pastries, but today, forward-thinking wineries are crafting drier versions in line with changing consumer tastes and to showcase the site’s potential for complexity.

With so much to discover beyond supermarket brands, a little knowledge can go a long way.

Armed with these core facts, you’re now equipped to explore the great variety that Prosecco has to offer!

Prosecco: The ultimate buyer's guide tasting notes

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