Pink Prosecco approved for export

Rosé Prosecco has been given the green light to be able to be exported outside of Italy, and producers are wasting no time in getting it on supermarket shelves.

Pink Prosecco will be hitting supermarket shelves around the world with gusto this week

Pink Prosecco was approved for export by the European Union last week, with the Italian government having already backed the sparkler in May.

“With this opportunity, we expect to add a worthy development to the denomination with a high-quality product, best expressing the environmental factors that characterise our territory,” the Prosecco DOC consortium said in a statement.

Prosecco producers have been able to sell rosé Prosecco abroad since 2 November. First out of the gates was discount retailer Aldi, which started selling its first bottles of pink Prosecco DOC in the UK on Monday at £6.49 a bottle. Aldi is also selling the pink fizz in mini 250ml bottles priced at £2.29.

“Prosecco is one of our best sellers and shoppers can’t seem to get enough of pink wines so far this year, so a Prosecco that’s pink is sure to get the nation popping bottles.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the Italian suppliers on creating such an exciting new product, and we can’t wait for our customers to try this tipple,” said Julie Ashford, managing director of buying at Aldi UK.

Predicting huge demand in the run-up to Christmas, producers have already pre-sold the vast majority of their rosé Prosecco before the wine was even made.

In order for it to be able to be called rosé Prosecco DOC, the wine needs to be aged for at least 60 days and it must include 10-15% Pinot Noir in the blend.

According to the Prosecco DOC consortium, around 20 million bottles of pink Prosecco have been distributed within the national borders in the on- and off-trade.

“Of the 486 million bottles produced, about 80% of them are exported, and, thanks to European recognition, it is estimated that sales will find greater stimulus and vigour in the last quarter of 2020,” Stefano Zanette, president of the Prosecco DOC consortium, said.

“I congratulate those producers who have shown themselves to be very ready to seize this opportunity, committing themselves right away so as not to be caught unprepared,” he added.

Consortium director Luca Giavi said of the news: “We have to thank the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the General Directorate for Agriculture of the European Commission, and the MEPs who are committed to making people understand the great opportunity that comes with the approval, especially considering the particular moment that Italy, Europe, and the whole world is experiencing right now. “