Bad news for prossecco socialists everywhere (ie, those of us who can’t quite stretch to roughly £186 for a glass of golden nectar). Prosecco is running out again.
Yes, this does seem to be a yearly scare-mongering ploy, potentially employed to remind us all that no matter how many expensive flutes we have in our cupboards for dinner parties with our equally cough_deluded_cough aspirational chums, we’re all Lambrini-guzzling novices at heart. But when you look at the recent figures published by industry trade magazine The Grocer, you can see why mild hysteria surrounding prossecco supplies rears its head so often.
Like champagne, production of prossecco is geographically restricted to a small region of north-western Italy, meaning that there’s only so much that can be made in any length of time. Unlike champagne, though, prossecco is growing hugely in popularity thanks to its ‘appealing, versatile style.’
‘It’s not as aggressive as Champagne can be,’ says Laura Jewell, Master of Wine for Tesco. ‘It’s not as prickly on the tongue [she means fizzy] and therefore it has a much softer, approachable style.’
Basically, prossecco tastes really bloody good and everyone loves it, and now demand is outgrowing supply. Last year, Brit’s drank 40 million litres of it, which is EIGHT TIMES as much as it was in 2012, and right now 1 in every 4 bottles of sparkling wine purchased in British stores is prossecco. Experts say that ‘cheaper’ options from Germany, Spain and France (what, like champagne?!) are becoming more attractive to retailers who are struggling to meet increased demand.
Though, evidently, I’m not alone in my preference of prossecco over most other sparkling wines, the thought of replacing my pre-dinner tipple with Cava fills me with doom.
Maybe Italy should have thought of this before they created the most delicious thing in the world ever.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.