In sparkling form

Giorgio Polegato, president of Treviso-based Astoria winery, is convinced that prosecco—the Italian counterpart to champagne—can “grow in quantity and gain a finer image” and “reach [the level of] champagne sales” within the next five to six years. It sounds like a grandiose marketing statement, but Polegato can count on his bullishness to be backed by statistics. According to the Champagne Study Report 2011 (conducted by Lanson International, a group of champagne houses based in Reims) cited in Decanter.com, prosecco’s sales increased by nearly 50 percent last year. The wine media website also noted that the Wine Future conference held in Hong Kong last year predicted that prosecco’s production volume will reach “one billion bottles within the next 25 years”, a fivefold increase. (The prosecco industry currently makes 220 million bottles annually, while Champagne produces approximately 330 million bottles.)
Astoria is riding on this demand for alternative bubblies. “40 percent of our Astoria’s sales today are made up of exports,” says the 46-year-old, who grew up in a family of winemakers. “Tokyo and Hong Kong have proved to be very important markets for us. This year, we also celebrated the one millionth bottle of the 9.5 Cold Wine (a low alcohol prosecco) sold since it was launched in VinItaly less than two years ago.”

Excerpt from the October issue of epicure.