Everyone loves bubbles! Starting from Prosecco, world-wide top seller, Italian sparkling wines are enjoyed all over the planet. If you carry these lively, inviting wines close to your heart, here are 10 interesting facts to discover!

Sparkly secrets: interesting and little known facts about the most popular sparkling wines

1 - Why do we say ‘one for the road’?

Simple: Due to means of transport in the past! Until the end of the nineteenth century the most common means of transport in the city was horseback. Including grabbing a drink in a Tavern! Just before returning home, the last drink was almost drunk in the saddle, or ... one for the road!

2 – What is in Champagne?

Do not search for inexistent grapes, Champagne Grapes do not exist! Champagne mainly comes from: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Petit Meslier and Arbanne.

3 - A perfect match for mushrooms?

Sparkling wines! Mushrooms are prepared in many different ways, especially for rich and tasty sauces for the best, most flavoursome dishes. They oxidise very easily, so it is best not overcook them. They have a sweet aftertaste, accompanied by a just hint of fresh flavour (when noticeable) A perfect match? Fettuccine with Porcini Mushrooms and Pinot Rosé!

4 - A thousand ways to have an aperitif

Do not stop at the usual cocktails: Bubbles are one of the best ingredients for perfect cocktails! Spritzers, Prosecco based drinks, Bellinis ... the recipes are abundant, and the pleasure of mixing our favorite wines with unusual ingredients makes for a memorable toast. A simple, easy recipe? Negroni Spagliato: Spumante, Red Martini and Bitter Campari in equal quantity, mix, pour and toast!

5 - Fried fish and sparkling wine

Fish, whether it is shellfish or the traditional type, is tasty: crunchy breading, the flavour of the fish and the salt gives this tasty dish a strong, full and recognisable flavour. Sparkling wines are perfect to diminish the oily sensation left by the cooking oil: freshness and slight acidity are ideal to achieve this. The harmony you achieve is perfect: if you choose a Valdobbiadene, unforgettable!

6 - Since when has Prosecco been DOC (guarantee of origin)?

In the wilderness of the infinite denominations due to the richness of the national grape heritage, not all wines were born with the DOC symbol displayed on the label. You may find it hard to believe it, but Prosecco, until 2009 was an IGT, not a DOC.

7 – Why can be called Brut a sparking wine? 

The term Brut has nothing to do with the aesthetics of the bottle! In oenology, the word indicates the absence of sweetness, or sugar. It is a noun of French origin: it means crude, raw. It acquires, with the passage of time, its pure meaning. In short, a Brut wine is not sweet, it has the liveliness of the bubbles and is purely delightful!

8 - As long as there is Prosecco there is hope

It is not a Venetian proverb, but the title of a recent thriller in the Italian cinemas. Derived from the novel of the same name by Fulvio Ervas in 2010, is the work of director Antonio Padovan, a Venetian who lived in New York for years. Giuseppe Battiston plays Inspector Stucky, a clumsy investigator who comes up against a mysterious suicide case, followed by murders which all appear to be linked to him. Set among barrels, wineries and brotherhoods of wine lovers, As long as there is Prosecco, there is Hope is a fun film which gives us an awe-inspiring peek at a land full of evocative scenery.

9 - Risotto and sparkling wine

Prepare a risotto with sparkling wine: not in a glass, but also in cooking! The fragrances which you will achieve will be unique and irresistible, with an uncomparable creaminess. Try a delicious risotto with strawberries bathed in a Pinot Spumante Brut, or a more traditional Mushroom Risotto profumed of Prosecco: Success assured in the kitchen and at the table!

10 – Which sparkling wine for Panettone and Pandoro?

It's almost a mantra nowadays: no sparlking wine with desserts! We should say, not all bubbles. With Panettone and Pandoro, a Moscato Spumante is perfect, just the correct sweetness. We suggest two more labels to try with traditional Christmas cakes (and not only them): Fragolino, a red wine which offers you intense harmonies of sweetness, and Violet Rosato, a sweet, rose-flavoured wine, perfect to be uncorked when our favourite desserts are on the table!

Photo credits: Luca Nebuloni e Nicola since 1972 on VisualHunt / CC BY