A bubbly companion for a healthy summer meal
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THE Shanghai summer heat is fast approaching so quite appropriately this week’s iDeal section focuses on healthy and light foods. If you’re seeking these same summer friendly qualities in a wine, then I’m quite confident that I have a perfect solution for you. Italian white wines were featured in last week’s column and even though I purposely avoid repeating wines from the same country on consecutive weeks, I just couldn’t help myself. Top Prosecco DOCG wines are just too perfect to enjoy with nutritious and refreshing dishes.
Truth be told, some Prosecco wines stand out. Differentiating between the two isn’t difficult at all. You just have to get your acronyms right. While some very good Prosecco DOC wines are produced and available in Shanghai, the great majority of all the top Prosecco sparkling wines are DOCG. Look at the top of the bottle and if you see a golden strip with the bold letters DOCG then you’re most likely soon to experience a very sophisticated and delicious sparkling wine drinking experience.
The outstanding popularity and success of Prosecco wines worldwide is primarily due to their excellent price/quality ratio. The production growth over the last decade means that there’s a significant difference in terms of quality between the most basic Prosecco wines and the top wines from traditional growing regions.
The newer and much larger DOC area is located in the lower elevations on mostly flat land while the traditional DOCG area occupies sloping hills. The steep vineyards have excellent exposure to the sun while the cooler climate results in a slower and longer growing season. Readers of this column are well aware that long and slow ripening of grapes results in wines of greater freshness, intensity and complexity. International recognition and acclaim may be a relatively recent occurrence, but the Prosecco DOCG region actually has a long and distinguished history.
During the height of the Roman Empire, Pliny the Elder — perhaps the world’s first known wine critic — wrote passionately about the wines from this province. In 1876, the first Italian enology school was established in Conegliano; in 1969, the Conegliano Valdobbiadene region was awarded DOC status; in 2009, the traditional Conegliano Valdobbiadene area was upgraded to Italy’s highest DOCG status. Today, the official Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superior consortium protects the brand and reputation of the region, oversees and regulates production and provides technical assistance to growers and wineries.
There are several misconceptions about Prosecco. The first misbelief is that Prosecco is an inexpensive sparkling wine that’s inferior to Champagne. While I admit that some pretty mediocre Prosecco DOC wines do exist, many Prosecco DOCG wines compete very well with fine Champagnes in terms of quality. In fact, Prosecco sparklers are more approachable and fruit-forward.
The second misbelief is that Prosecco wines are most suitable as an aperitif. The DOCG level wines are terrific partners to many kinds of appetizers, seafood and white meat dishes. In addition to enjoying them with a light summer fare, one of my favorite endeavors is pairing Prosecco DOCG wines with regional Shanghai dishes.
I suggest Brut with popular cold dishes like salted chicken, river snails with Chinese parsley, and seasonal hairy crab. Try extra dry wines with local sauced dishes like river eel in brown sauce, red cooked pork belly and roasted pork stuffed with fragrant mushroom sticky rice.
The intrinsic sweetness of dry wines makes them exquisite companions to some of Shanghai’s more pungent foods, including stinky bean curd. This is an exquisite pairing as the rich and elegant sweetness of the wine beautifully assuages the strong flavor of the tofu while augmenting and distinguishing the natural flavor and delicate texture.
The history and present state of DOCG wines is indeed impressive, but I believe the greatest chapters in the story of this region are being written now, with the China market playing a leading role. So should you be in a quandary about what wine to best enjoy this summer season, I highly recommend Prosecco DOCG wines.
The number of Prosecco producers with wines available in Shanghai is growing but still not representative of what it should be. Top DOCG producers whose wines you can find include La Tordera, Bisol, Villa Sandi and Malvoni Carpene.
So while I eminently enjoy having a nice glass of Prosecco DOC wine and readily admit that they’re enjoyable, budget friendly summer thirst quenchers, when I want something truly bubbly deliciously special I look for a distinguished Prosecco DOCG. Next week, I'll have a quite surprise for readers, and I promise it won’t be Italian!
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