Prosecco
2019 GOLD: 6 SILVER: 10 BRONZE: 5 COMMENDED: 16
2018 GOLD: 4 SILVER: 9 BRONZE: 6 COMMENDED: 11
And so it goes on. Sommeliers might roll their eyes at the northern Italian froth-fest, but sales continue to be the one bright spot in an otherwise stagnant UK market. So perhaps, you know, the on-trade needs to get over itself.
Not least because the results here were encouraging. We had a record number of Golds, backed up by a solid number of Silvers and Bronzes. And the feedback from the teams was generally positive – certainly for the most part it was well beyond the ‘we stock it because we have to’ line.
Pricing might have gone up over the past couple of years – last year we saw a decent spread of Silver medals around the £8 mark, whereas this year that price point rarely did better than Bronze – but there was still good value across the board and, upmarket, complexity and finesse. This is a category in rude health.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Prosecco is a popular brand, but we don’t sell any. It’s the policy, we stick to champagne. It’s much better as an aperitif, it’s more food-friendly.’ Adam Michocki, The Glasshouse
‘It’s difficult to encourage people in a market dominated by normal prosecco flavours to trade up to something that does express more of the region and that has more application than just as an aperitif.’ Martin Lam, team leader
‘A consistent flight. Nothing spectacular from top end to the bottom price – there’s not that much difference in terms of quality. Though they’re less sweet than they used to be.’ Tanguy Martin, New Street Warehouse
‘Even at low prices they were fairly decent.’ Ross Antonelli, Hawksmoor Borough
‘The Valdobbiadenes were quite an impressive flight, especially at the £9 to £12 price range.’ Laura Rhys MS, team leader
‘Prosecco is an appellation which represents a brand. It’s a category on its own in the world of wine. We found quite a bit of diversity, from peachy and forward to more refined and subtle styles. Most of us tended towards the drier styles.’ Jan Konetzki, team leader
‘There is a place for sweeter styles on a wine list, but the notes on wine lists need to reflect the styles.’ Leonie Loudon, consultant
‘The best value was in the lower price range, but the most expensive wine [in our flight] was exceptional. Whatever you’re looking for, there’s a wine at the price tag.’ Savvas Symeonidis, Gymkhana Restaurant