Cantina Bernardi Frizzante 2005 (dry yet fruity and light)

I'm not really a great fan of sparkling wine. I prefer fruity robust reds, and often I feel that appreciation of something delicate, light and airy comes less easily as a result. Nevertheless a good champagne or prosecco can have enough layers in it to entertain my inexperienced palate, if I can sit still enough to drink it. It's a little like getting whacked on the head by a teacher to hammer home a message.

This is a bottle of prosecco a group of us had to while away the afternoon at the Anchor and Hope. It was a great facilitator of conversation. Then again, sparkling wine often is - the bubbles aerate the wine and ease absorption of alcohol in the upper intestine, and people become convivial more quickly. It helps if the bubbly is as easy drinking as this prosecco of course.

Cantina Bernardi Frizzante 2005
Sparkling white wine
Italy (Prosecco Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Veneto)
Prosecco

Nose: Sour grapes (yes, they do have a flavour, not just of envy), orange juice.
Mouthfeel: Light and refreshing. Slightly astringent on the tongue, the first mouthful made me want to pucker up a little.
Tasting: Dry, plum skin, a bitterness suggesting hard fruit skin, something nutty (almonds?), strawberries.

Prosecco, made from the grape of the same name, is the Veneto's answer to Champagne's champagne. Real prosecco should be made only around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, and bottles from these regions carry the official appellation (or DOC). I find prosecco to be drier than champagne of the same grade, with more nutty flavours and (I'm going to get skewered for this) more fruit. Champagne is more bready and oaty, more likely to have that elusive "structure" than prosecco.

This prosecco did have structure, despite being very dry. It was a little confusing for me, as I don't normally associate dryness with a lot of fruit. I also fancied that I could taste something slightly camphoraceous after the bottle had been open for a while, but that could just be my thinking about chasing the prosecco with a dram of Lagavulin 16 yo...

Anyway, the Cantina Bernardi vineyard is in the right place to produce the stuff, being located between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, near the village of Refrontolo. It's run by the brothers Adriano and Pierluigi, and was founded in 1960. They make 5 types of Prosecco, with the prime label being Prosecco "Arnere", a wine made with grapes from a certain portion of their vineyard. There are 2 other sparkling wines made with Manzoni grapes, as well as some dessert wines and some reds.

So many vineyards, so little time.