Bosco to release ‘first’ Venezia DOC white sparkler

As producers continue to capitalise on the runaway success of Prosecco, bulk wine producer Bosco Viticultori is preparing to launch a Venezia DOC sparkling white, which it claims is “better than Prosecco” and equally affordable.

Bosco’s Viticultori’s Venezia DOC sparkling rosé

Speaking to the drinks business at the World Bulk Wine Exhibition in Amsterdam this week Paolo Lasagni, managing director of Bosco, a major supplier of private-label Prosecco and bulk wine, revealed his company’s plans to unveil a Venezia DOC white sparkler at Prowein next year.

“Everybody is talking about Prosecco right now and it’s probably going to last for some additional years but I don’t believe that the current market is sustainable”, said Lasagni. “The threat of that wine is that it’s a daily wine and to be a daily wine you have to have a daily price and if it becomes too expensive it’s not going to be a daily wine anymore. But it does give producers the chance to show other products, both sparkling and still wines.”

Lasagni has previously commented on the creeping cost of Prosecco, with demand threatening to outstrip supply. He predicts that bulk Prosecco prices could double by the end of the year as producers compete to supply a growing demand for the Italian fizz. Speaking to db in Shanghai last month, Lasagni said bulk Prosecco prices were on course to hit €2.50 per litre by Christmas, a rise of more than 100% on the start of 2015. Prices for bulk Prosecco following the 2014 harvest were around €1.20 per litre.

Produced using the Charmat, or tank, method, Bosco’s Venezia DOC sparkling wine is made in a similar way to Prosecco, but is “more complex”, according to Lasagni. The regulations of Venezia DOC are also more flexible than for Prosecco DOC wines, meaning that the “winemaker can really make a difference”, he said.

“From a tasting point of view it’s very similar to Prosecco”, explained Lasagni. “It must combine at least 50% Glera and other varietals such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc or something else from the region. Since we have flexibility with the blend, the style we are trying to reach is slightly more complex than Prosecco. It’s a richer, yellow in colour.”

Venezia DOC was formally recognised in 2010, with Lasagni believing the region’s worldwide recognition to be a “fantastic marketing tool” that can help producers “say something additional to Prosecco”.

“We already make a rosé”, said Lasagni, “but no one has bottled a sparkling white from Venezia DOC, which I think is a pity. We do not want to present it as a pure alternative to Prosecco as that would already sound like something cheap. We want to present it as something better than Prosecco.”

Set to be released under Bosco’s Canal Grando brand, the sparkler will be unveiled at ProWein next year and is expected to carry a shelf price of around £5.99.