This is the ‘love child’ of our two most beloved summer drinks: Rosé and Prosecco. Cheekily, we’ve nicknamed it ‘RO-SECCO’.

This is definitely one of the bubbling-over-with-excitement releases of 2021 – the long-awaited arrival to NZ’s shores of Sartori ‘Erfo’ Prosecco Rosé. The globally loved Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco, is now to bless us with a touch of pink and we’re fizzing!

We already love Sartori Prosecco here in NZ as it caters to all budgets and tastes. And if you love bubbly, fresh and fruity sparkling wines then you will love the new Sartori Prosecco Rosé even more. Thanks to our esteemed Italian producer, Casa Vinicola Sartori, we at Dhall & Nash Fine Wines have just landed the first shipment of ‘Ro-secco’ – just in time for all your spring and summer festivities!

As the Sartori family ‘legend’ goes, Pietro Sartori founded his winery in 1898, only because – disappointed by his suppliers – he wanted to be served only the wines he had personally selected for his small trattoria and hotel. He judged it well and with his success it was just a few years before he had moved into the historic Villa Maria in the heart of Valpolicella, just outside of Verona. From then on, the Casa Vinicola Sartori winery grew steadily with the valued input of each subsequent generation. Today, Luca, Andrea, and Paolo Sartori, the fourth generation of the family, are in charge of the winery and exporting their extensive range of top notch vini to over 50 countries. And never ones to rest on their vines, they have now produced a stunning pink Prosecco to add to their luscious wine portfolio!

“Pink Prosecco Is the fizz that’s poised to ride the rosé wave.” – Elin McCoy, Wine Writer (Blomberg News)

Over the past decade, North-eastern Italy’s Prosecco region has been one of the primary drivers of the global boom in sparkling wine, leading us consumers to re-evaluate how and when we enjoy a glass of bubbly. We want it often and we want it approachably priced.

After much consultation and building on the success of selling over half a billion bottles of white Prosecco a year, the Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Controllata Prosecco — the consortium of Prosecco producers — decided to take it up a notch! In spring 2020, the Consorzio unveiled a new category, Prosecco D.O.C Rosé. Bottles flew out the doors as soon as it hit the US, UK, and European markets.

As Master of Wine Christy Canterbury says, “The category is set to soar”. There’s good reason for her prediction because Prosecco DOC Rosé is all about quality.

Since 2017, the Consorzio has been working on production standards for its best Rosés, determining the practices to follow in the vineyard and in the cellar that will result in elevated flavours and exquisite aromas. Only Prosecco producers that abide by the new Consorzio rules can label their wines as DOC Prosecco Rosé. The designation is a guarantee of excellence from the 111 producers that released them this past year.

Wineries can now put ‘Prosecco Rosé DOC’  the label, but only if the sparkling wine adheres to the following:

• It’s a blend of the region’s white grape Glera (used for regular prosecco) and 10% to 15% Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir).
• Examples can be Brut Nature (very dry), Brut (dry) to Extra Dry (slightly sweet)
• All must be vintage dated (Millesimato)
• Wines must use the Charmat process, in which the second fermentation that produces bubbles happens in pressurized steel tanks, rather than in individual bottles, as in Champagne
• Prosecco Rosé ages at least 60 days in tanks to gain more flavour (only 30 days normally)
• The colour should be “pink more or less intense and shining”

“What I have tasted so far is fantastic,” says Master of Wine, Christy Canterbury. “There’s a seriousness and dimension to them that is less ethereal and just heartier and more exciting.”

Prosecco Rosé has an incredible balance between citrusy, floral, and vivacious red-berry flavours; between roundness and snap; between lusciousness and mineral refreshment. Also, the alcohol content is only around 11-12%, making these easy-drinking yet elevated pink wines, that are made for fun times, picnics, beachy afternoons, and sipping alongside charcuterie and other yummy nibbles at parties.

Ice buckets to the ready, just landed Sartori ‘Erfo’ Prosecco Rosé DOC – the ‘new pink’ – a divine sip-anytime fizz for when you need five minutes of instant relax and then a moment to drift off into a romantic Italian wonderland of frisky flavours.

Cin! Cin!