All language subtitles for V.is.for.Vino.S02E02.Prosecco.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB

Welcome to the land of Prosecco.

Our first stop in Italy is to
learn about the sparkling wine

that's loved around the world, Prosecco.

It's drank with aperitivos in the afternoon

and meals over sunsets.

It's drank here in Venice,

the most iconic city in the region all the way

through the countrysides of
Valdobbiadene where it's made,

and that's where we're headed.

Welcome to V is for Vino.

Let's watch, learn and drink.

Crowded alleyways, winding waterways,

expansive squares and grand canals,

there's no place in the
world quite like Venice, Italy.

Why am I here?

Well, for my journey to the land

of bubbles I was gonna need some help from a local.

So before heading to Treviso,

the subregion of Veneto
where the best Prosecco is made,

I met with my friend Italian native

and fellow sommelier, Tamara,

to help show me the ropes and spend a bit of time

in the capital city of the region.

I grew up about 45 minutes outside of Venice.

So this is all the area of Prosecco?

Yes.

But the heart of it is North?

Correct, exactly. Exactly.

So you're saying Pro- "say" -co?

Yes. Not Pro- "sec" -co.

Correct, exactly. Exactly.

Like my Midwest accent would do it.

Okay.

We're in Venice.

Why does it exist?

What is the story behind it?

It started because people
were leaving from the mainland

to find a safe place.

I mean, this place is so unreal.

When you go down the grand
canal and just seeing the way

that they built up the
buildings and the architecture

on the buildings.

It's incredible. - It's stunning.

There's nothing like that, it's so incredible.

There's nowhere in the world I've seen this.

This is called Cafe liscio, which means smooth.

And it means that it doesn't
have milk or alcohol inside,

cuz' you can definitely have

espresso with alcohol in it.

What is it called if it has alcohol in it?

It's called corretto.

'Cause it's correct.

It's correct, right.

Tell me about the perception of Prosecco

in America versus what it actually is here in Italy?

It's actually very different.

Prosecco in the USA is usually drank

as an aperitif before the meal.

In Italy Prosecco is drank, sure,

before the meal but also throughout the meal.

And a lot of the Prosecco I feel like we get

in America is not as good as the stuff I've had here.

Yes.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, unfortunately you're correct.

It's hard to find good Prosecco in America.

Yes, it is hard to find.

What's like a typical Italian meal, how many courses,

how does it work?

It's usually four courses.

Oh, wow. - So we start with

an appetizer and then you have a first course

which is usually pasta or risotto or tortellini.

And you get a second course

which can be meat-based or seafood-based.

Okay.

And then of course you have dessert.

And then you get dessert.

And I feel like wine and food culture here

is just more celebrated, just generally.

Yes, absolutely. - I feel

like meals are longer.

I feel like there's more attention to detail

and it's almost kind of sacred.

It is sacred, yes.

It's extremely important
for the Italians to sit down,

have a good meal.

When you go home in the evening and you sit down

for a long meal with your family that's the time

in which you share what you've done

throughout the day with your family.

It's an important part of the day.

Leaving the hustle and bustle

of the city we took the hour drive north

through the tranquil winding hills

of the Italian countryside to Valdobbiadene,

the city at the heart of Prosecco production.

So what is Prosecco?

A place, a grape, a wine?

Even if you're fluent

in Italian the answer takes a bit to comprehend.

Is it a place?

Well, yeah, Prosecco refers to a geographical area

that includes nine provinces
spread across two regions,

Veneto and Friuli Venezia
Giulia in the northeast of Italy.

It includes the little town of Prosecco

from which the region got its name.

This is the place where Prosecco originated

and the only area by law where Prosecco can be made.

The Prosecco region can produce up

to 600 million bottles a year

which makes it the most popular
sparkling wine in the world.

That's about double what they produce in Champagne.

But the highest quality Prosecco is made

about 40 miles from Venice,

located between the cities of Valdobbiadene,

say it with me, kids, Valdobbiadene and Conegliano.

Is it a grape?

It was up until 2009.

It used to be that the grape

that made Prosecco was called Prosecco,

however, Italy got word that places like Slovenia

and Australia were making wine from the same grape

and calling it Prosecco as well

and that didn't sit too well.

Italy wanted to protect Prosecco's reputation.

So they took a page out of Champagne's book

and made steps to protect
Prosecco as a place instead

of a grape and simultaneously changed the name

of the grape to Glera.

And yeah, of course Prosecco is a wine

but is there something distinct

about the wine making
process that makes it Prosecco?

I'm glad you asked.

See, it's all about how the bubbles are made.

Unlike Champagne which uses the Champagne Method,

Prosecco uses something
called the Charmat Method

to make its bubbles which
we're gonna talk about later.

To sum up,

Prosecco is sparkling wine
made in the Charmat Method,

made within the Prosecco
region using the Glera grape.

See, not quite as simple as you thought.

Glera, it's the main grape of Prosecco.

I say main grape because the law actually allows

for 15% other grapes to be blended into Prosecco.

But today we're just gonna talk about Glera.

There is evidence that
Glera traces all the way back

to the Romans which makes it one

of the oldest grapes still being made today.

So you can do as the Romans do

and drink as the Romans drank.

Glera makes wines that are full of yellow apple

and pears, white peach and apricots,

honeydew, citrus and lots and lots of flowers,

white flowers, elder flowers, honeysuckle and lily.

It's fairly low in alcohol,

light in body with high acidity

which keeps it crisp and refreshing.

And while 90% of Prosecco
you find will be sparkling,

or spumante, it's sometimes made

in a slightly fizzy style known as frizzante

and even still, called tranquillo.

It's a semi-aromatic grape variety

which means if it's harvested properly

at low yields it produces fragrant,

floral and fruity wines.

And if not, well,

let's just say there's oceans of mediocre Prosecco

on the market that a lot

of Italians wouldn't wash their boots with.

The good news is that today we're gonna talk

about how to find the good stuff.

Tamara and I continued our journey

through the unassuming
Italian town and local market.

Then it was off to try a true Italian tradition,

one you might have heard of, the Spritz.

So what is Spritz 'cause to
me it's not just a drink here.

I hear everybody, Spritz, Spritz, Spritz all the time.

Yeah, it's not just a drink.

It's actually, it's a philosophy almost, I would say.

It's part of the Italian culture.

- It's a lifestyle.
- Yes, it is a lifestyle, exactly.

And it's basically a moment, it's called a aperitivo,

in which you get together with friends and family

about 11:30 in the morning
or like 5:30 in the afternoon

and you have a Spritz.

11:30 in the morning?

Yeah, sometimes that happens.

Sounds great.

So it's a classic cocktail on this area.

It's a part, a third of Prosecco,

it's a third of sparkling
water and a third of Bitters.

A third like a Bitter liquor?

Yes, exactly. - Okay.

You get the bubbles, you get the bitter,

you get the little bit of sweet from the Prosecco

and so you get kind of the balanced cocktail?

Exactly. Exactly.

Everything balances out.

And you get kind of snacks with it as well?

You do. You do. You do.

Yeah, you get what's called Cicchetti

which are little snacks.

Cicchetti?

Yes.

All right, let me try it,

not that I haven't had a Spritz before.

They're all the rage, I don't know if you've heard.

But have you had a Spritz in Italy?

No. - No.

It tastes better here.

Yes, it does.

It does, I think the problem too is

that some places in America
use maybe low quality Prosecco

and it's a much better cocktail

if you're using the right Prosecco.

Absolutely.

So where are we going next?

What's our plan for the day?

Well, we are going

to see the oldest Prosecco
winery in Valdobbiadene.

Just a five-minute walk from Downtown

we were honored to sit down
and talk with Pierluigi Bolla,

president of Valdo Spumanti,

which has been making wine since 1926.

The company was a

formed by four local entrepreneurs.

One was a doctor and one was a lawyer, one was a farmer

and another one was sales
people like startup they say.

1938 or so before the Second
World War my father decided

to acquire this company.

The new generation coming in the business today

is the fifth generation.

It's so amazing to
hear you talk about a company

that's been producing wine since 1926.

Welcome here at the hills of Cartizze.

It is beautiful. - Which is mean

the cru of the Prosecco wine production.

Very steep, everything here is harvest manually.

Wow, all by hand.

All by hand.

There are no automatic machines

and there is no automatic irrigation as well.

So basically we are taking advantage

of what the nature is providing us with.

And what you get is a true expression

of the nature of the place.

How difficult is to work the vineyard

in this part of Valdobbiadene?

To harvest one hectare it takes one day.

To harvest one hectare

in the flat area it takes usually one hour.

Wow.

Now, the destiny of Prosecco is something

which is in our hands so we have to be careful

in order to position Prosecco not as a commodity

but as a wine which is produced in this marvelous

and beautiful area.

Get ready for a whole bunch of Italian words.

There are four classifications of wine in Italy,

VdT, IGT, DOC and DOCG.

These are essentially
government regulated geographic

and quality controls.

Today we're only gonna talk about the top two,

DOC and DOCG which stand

for Denominazione di Origine Controllata

and Denominazione di
Origine Controllata e Garantita

which officially mean
Denomination of Controlled Origin

and Denomination of
Controlled and Guaranteed Origin.

And that's the last time we're ever gonna say that

because from now on we're calling it DOC or DOCG.

You've probably seen these images on bottles

without even knowing that you had.

Things like Chianti DOCG or Valpolicella DOC.

There are currently 329 DOCs in Italy and 74 DOCGs.

To be labeled a DOC wine
you have to follow certain rules,

things like where the grapes can come from,

what varietals are allowed and what percentages,

alcohol levels, yields
and viticultural techniques,

aging techniques and more.

These rules are even more strict at the DOCG level

where yields have to be even lower,

the geographic area where the wine can come

from is usually smaller and
a tasting panel actually has

to approve your DOCG status.

So how does this all relate to Prosecco?

Well, Prosecco has what you may call a pyramid of DOC

and DOCG classifications that generally goes up

in quality the higher you get.

DOC Prosecco is entry level grown primarily

on the flatlands.

But it's DOCG Prosecco that really shines.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

is the most know Prosecco DOCG

and it marks the area between
the towns of Valdobbiadene

in the west and Conegliano in the east

which as of 2019 was actually named

a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is the area where
Prosecco's full potential is revealed

due to the grapes sun exposure,

soil types, elevation and vine age.

Because of the slope
vineyards are extremely difficult

to work and have to be harvest by hand.

250 hours of manual labor per acre versus only

about 62 for the flatlands.

The work is so difficult that the harvest

is sometimes referred to as heroic harvest.

The next level are the 43 sub-zones of the Rive,

specific vineyards and communes
known for even better wine.

And the top of the pyramid,

the steep hills of the Cartizze Vineyards,

think black diamond ski slope steep.

Only about 264 acres,

you could call it the Grand Cru of Prosecco.

Who better than Valdo's chief wine maker

to explore the level of precision that goes

into each bottle.

No.

No, she'll fill me in later.

One last thing to talk about,

how do they make those glorious bubbles?

The Charmat Method,

invented by Frederico Martinotti in 1895

but executed by a man named Eugene Charmat in 1907,

hence the Charmat Method.

It's also known as The Tank Method,

Bulk Method, Cuve Close or Martinotti Method

by Italians who'd rather credit the Italian guy

rather than the French guy.

It's a five-step method that is all completed

in large pressurized tanks.

First, the wine undergoes primary fermentation

in stainless steel vats.

This creates a very low alcohol,

fruity, aromatic still wine, no bubbles yet.

Second, the wine is put

into a stainless steel tank called autoclave

to undergo secondary fermentation.

A mixture of yeast and sugar is added called tirage

to induce secondary fermentation

which lasts three to 12 months.

This is the most important part

because this is where the bubbles come from.

See, all wine as a by-product
of fermentation produces CO2,

or carbon dioxide gas.

But the difference is that in
still wines the CO2 is allowed

to evaporate up into the air in open vats.

But in the Tank Method the
fermentation occurs in a closed,

pressurized tank that traps the CO2,

making a giant tank of effervescent, bubbly wine.

That's right, folks.

Somewhere other than your
fantasy exists a massive tank

of Prosecco just waiting to be tapped.

Third, the wine is cooled to stop fermentation

and filtered under pressure into another tank.

This filtration removes the
dead yeast cells called lees.

Fourth, sugar is added, called the dosage,

this determines how sweet

or not sweet your final wine will be.

And finally, the wine is bottled under pressure

into individual bottles

like you can hear happening right behind me.

We should talk briefly about the difference

between the Charmat Method
and the Champagne Method.

See, people often use the word Champagne

and Prosecco interchangeably
but they're as different

as cannolis and macaroons.

The biggest difference is

that while the Charmat
Method occurs entirely in tanks,

most of the process for the
Champagne Method occurs

in individual bottles.

This provides smaller
bubbles and more lees contact

which leads to the bready,

toasty and nutty characteristics

that we associate with Champagne.

But here's the thing,

this process entails a lot more time,

effort and energy in the cellar and thus, money.

Entry-level Champagne costs around $40

and can cost hundreds and
even thousands of dollars

for the top tier wines.

Good Prosecco can be had for 20 bucks

and for $40 you can get top of the line Prosecco.

And for aromatic grapes like Glera

which they use to make it we don't really wanna cover

up all the beautiful fresh and floral notes

with yeast flavors,

we wanna bring them out with pronounced,

lively bubbles and wines
that are quickly released

and consumed so all of its beautiful aromatics

are still intact.

All right, already, I know enough about Prosecco.

It was time to drink with the fifth generation

of the Bolla family, Matteo.

We have a lot of glasses in front of us right now.

Of course.

You can see that because Prosecco is a whole world

full of different nuances and I'm very glad

that we can go through the
different styles and expressions.

So the first bottle that I'm opening,

it's our Marca Oro Prosecco DOC Brut.

Cheers, Guys.

Cheers.

This is a three-months Charmat Method.

Aromas predominantly is green apple and pear.

You get the best of apricot and citrus,

it's really fresh.

Next in line we're going

to taste our Cuvee 1926, okay.

This product is created

to honor the founding year of the winery.

It is about the Valdobbiadene
Prosecco Superiore DOCG,

really is like an whole meal companion.

This is your workhorse,

this can kind of do a little bit of everything.

And it is the perfect expression of taste

and tradition of Prosecco Superiore Extra Dry.

It follows a five-month Charmat Method.

We will find notes of white flowers,

peach and tropical fruits.

Oh yeah, right away beautiful

like stone fruit character.

And florals as well, like you said,

white and purple florals.

And we describe it as sweeter

but it doesn't taste sweet

and I think that's something
for people to understand

is that the amount of acid and the amount of bubbles

that you have balance it out.

So it reminds me of fresh laundry

where you get these beautiful fresh floral notes,

- lively and easy to drink.
- You make me remember

my grandmother, the scent of the laundry

of my grandmother.

All right, so what is the next one?

Next in line is our Rive di San Pietro di Barbozza.

So the Colegniano Valdobbiadene DOCG territory

is divided in 43 sub-zones, okay,

that are called Rive.

And this is an expression of one of these sub-zone

called San Pietro di Barbozza.

It is a Brut Nature so

zero residual sugar,

expression of florals since the Brut tends

to enhance the floral notes.

There's no residual sugar so that enhances,

the minerality that comes from the soil.

All right, wine number four.

Next in line we are going

to taste the Cuvee del
Fondatore made with 90% Glera

and 10% Oak Chardonnay.

Oak Chardonnay?

Yes. - Wow.

The Chardonnay is aged six month in the barrels

which adds nuances of vanilla.

Wow, that's cool.

That's very unique.

I mean, if you're into a fuller bodied chardonnay

or perhaps if you're into a
bigger style of Champagne

this is the Prosecco that I think

would be right up your alley.

Always following the innovation

from a production standpoint
we have the Valdo Numero 10.

Valdo started to experiment a Methodo Classico.

The traditional method.

The traditional method.

A 10-month secondary fermentation

in the bottle adds those
yeasty toasted bread aromas

typical of the traditional method

while still keeping the
traditional aromatics of Prosecco.

Can I have a little more?

This stuff is delicious.

You know what, it's exceedingly complex.

I went through that entire taste

and I'm still getting new
flavors and characteristics

from it and the finish is gorgeous.

The finish is long and persistent and it changes.

And we've arrived at the finale.

Grand finale.

What do we have?

So we have a very special wine.

It is called a Cuvee Viviana

and it is a Valdobbiadene
Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze.

It is the cru of Prosecco Superiore DOCG.

So the residual sugar here is higher

than all the Prosecco products
that we have tasted so far.

And you can smell it right on the nose.

Yes, it's very pronounced,

fresh fruits, tropical fruit notes.

- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah, there's like a ripe

papaya and pineapple. - Papaya.

Well, thank you so much

for taking us through this.

This is absolutely incredible.

Salute. - Salute.

Salute.

I may have gone a bit over
the top with my hotel this trip.

Welcome to CastelBrando,

a 2,000-year-old medieval castle

located 1,200 feet above sea level.

It was originally built as a defensive fortress

but today it's a four star hotel, theater and museum.

The best part,

it's only a 30-minute ride from Valdobbiadene.

♪ The tide is pulling us in ♪

♪ I got you if you got me baby ♪

♪ I got you if you got me baby ♪

I mean, this is a actual castle

and I don't think people understand that

because we don't have these in America.

This is one of the oldest

and largest castles in Europe.

It was built during the Roman times 2,000 years ago.

And at the time it was built as a defensive fortress

that's why it's located in this strategic position,

'cause from here they could
monitor the whole valley.

Now we're going to see the Brandolini Count bedroom.

That's a pretty cool chandelier.

Cool, right.

Yeah, the chandelier is actually from Venice.

Oh, it's from Venice.

Yeah, it's Murano glass.

Oh, that's the famous glass that we saw.

Yes and it's original from the 1700.

Wow.

The count actually had seven secret exits

from this bedroom.

If he will get under attack
he would escape from here.

And the second reason was for his lovers.

Oh, for the ladies.

Yes, for the ladies.

Do you know where they are?

I guess they're secret.

How would we know? - They're secret.

As we toured the castle you can't help

but feel transported back in time,

a time when life was harder,

when you lived and died by the sword,

when simple mundane tasks like providing food

and water and security,

things that we take for granted,

took up most of your time.

And how in 2019 I can come to this place

that was once reserved for a select few

and live in the luxury people from

that time couldn't even fathom.

Intricate mosaics in swimming pools

where the Roman baths used to be.

Turkish baths built into the original rock.

But hey, I'll take this over a
trip to the dungeon any day.

Speaking of living in luxury it was time

for me to call it a day.

We had big plans for tomorrow.

Ciao.

You too, good night.

See you tomorrow.

Welcome to the V is for Vino Nerd Lab.

We take complicated wine
topics and make them simple.

Today we're talking about
sparkling wine sweetness.

Sparkling wine sweetness.

First off, we're only talking
about sparkling wine today.

Still wine sweetness is a whole other Nerd Lab.

Yeah, Stupid.

So why make sparkling wine sweet at all?

Well, there's the obvious reason,

sometimes wines that are sweet taste nice

and pair better with spicy foods or desserts.

But the less obvious reason is this,

sparkling wines tend to be extremely acidic

and a little bit of sugar could go a long way

in making a sparkling wine more balanced.

Think of it like putting sugar on a tart grapefruit

to make it a bit more palatable.

We didn't reduce the acidity of the grapefruit,

we simply balanced it out with the sugar.

A lot of times the sugar added

to the sparkling wine is imperceptible.

It doesn't make the wine sweet it simply puts it

in line with the acidity and makes a smoother wine.

Sparkling wine sweetness comes

from something called a dosage.

How much of this dosage is added determines

the sweetness level which is
measured in grams per liter.

About the labeling system,

most sparkling wine all over the world follows

the same rules when it comes

to labeling your sparkling wines.

But the bad news,

the words used are a bit counterintuitive.

Let's start at the bottom.

Brut Nature, which is 0 to 3 grams per liter

and means zero or close to zero added sugar.

These wines are bone dry.

Next we get the Extra Brut
or 0 to 6 grams per liter which,

yes, on paper can be slightly sweeter

but this wine is still incredibly dry.

Then we get to Brut

which you've probably seen many times before.

The reason being is that Brut allows

for a whole lot of wiggle room,

zero to 12 grams per liter

and still know that this wine
will probably taste very dry.

Now here's where things get confusing.

We move onto extra dry
which is 12 to 17 grams per liter

and dry which is 17 to 32 grams per liter.

Even though these wines are called dry,

which in still wines we use to describe no sugar,

in sparkling wines extra dry

and dry actually mean a little sweet.

That's dumb.

I know, it's at extra dry where things start

to taste a bit smoother and
fruitier and a hint of sweet

and a dry where you'll get
some noticeable sweetness.

Our last two are Demi-sec and Doux.

These wines are definitely
dessert wines, noticeably sweet.

Sweet.

And when we're talking
about Prosecco you'll typically

only see them labeled as Brut, extra dry and dry,

because Prosecco is already fairly fruity.

So an extra dry Prosecco is going

to taste even sweeter than an extra dry Champagne.

And while all this seem like a whole lot

of sugar consider this,

cola has about 106 grams per liter

which is way higher than even
the sweetest sparkling wines.

And the difference between a glass of dry wine

and a glass of sweet wine is
only about 30 calories or so.

So if you're looking for places

to cut calories consider cutting out the desserts

and grabbing a glass of sparkling wine instead.

I hope today's Nerd Lab explained a little bit

about sparkling wine sweetness and as always,

keep geeking out.

The best thing about Prosecco,

it can be drank throughout the entire meal

and no one knows this better than our restaurant

which has been a local staple for 120 years.

So where are we headed?

We are heading to the Restaurant Da Gigetto.

Okay.

Yes, one of the most historic restaurants

in the whole area.

We're walking into food inspired by the tradition

but with a touch of innovation.

So they use a lot of fresh ingredients,

local ingredients based on the season.

This restaurant has some special meaning

to you, right?

So you got married, this was your reception?

Yes. Yes.

- It was a wonderful, wonderful time.
- So I'm going in

with a VIP.

Absolutely.

All right, I love it.

Let's do this.

Well, cheers.

Cheers.

I feel like we're strapping in for a while here.

Texture is my favorite part of this dish

because it's this beautiful balance.

The richness with the duck,

the crunchy from the little bit of

The crostini. - The crostini.

And then the creamy from the mousse,

a little bit of everything.

And I love this with the DOC

because I think you get an easy drinking wine

with kind of a complex dish.

When you don't know what bottle to bring

to your next dinner party bring sparkling wine.

The acidity in bubbles act as a palate cleanser

and make sparkling wine super versatile.

Plus, the fatty duck

and creamy mouse crave a high-acid wine.

Let's talk about pairing multiple courses.

The general rule is you wanna go from less complex

to more complex or light to heavy.

The DOC Prosecco is the lightest,

most straight forward of
the wines so it's definitely

where we wanna start.

Plus, the duck has a whole lot of flavor

and texture going on so sometimes it's good not

to overwhelm the palate
with an equally complex wine

but rather to contrast with
something easy drinking.

I have goosebumps and
I'm not joking even a little bit.

That pumpkin is unreal.

I've never thought about a
broth made with fig's leaves.

The 1926 is more rich and complex than DOC

which continues our light to heavy trend.

And as you already know,
bubbles pair with everything.

Also, the little bit of sugar that comes

from the fig and pumpkin needs the little bit

of sugar that comes from the extra dry Prosecco.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Mushrooms again but
completely different mushroom,

porcini so meatier, hearty,

perfect for I think the hearty beef.

Traditional method, perfect for richer dish.

This is a meat dish.

I don't have any problem
pairing this with sparkling wine.

Yeah, you do have a vinegar on top

so you get the little bit of acidity.

Yeah. Damn.

The traditional method
Prosecco is rich and powerful,

definitely a more serious complex wine

and is the perfect pairing for the rich,

meaty steak or main fish courses.

This is stunningly beautiful this dish.

Isn't it?

Yeah.

I can't place my finger on what this is, it's delicious.

It's a Prosecco meringue.

I love that dessert is pretty
much mandatory in Italy.

- It is.
- In America I feel like it's maybe,

maybe not, we're too full.

Italy it's part of the meal.

You have to have dessert.

Yeah, so they have the wine

that's got not only the top cru,

the highest sugar content so
obviously perfect with dessert.

Perfect with dessert, exactly.

When pairing multiple courses the light

to heavy pattern usually resets at dessert,

especially if there are multiple dessert courses.

So we're not gonna worry about that anymore.

The most important rule

for dessert is that sweet foods need sweet wines

and our dry Cartizze Prosecco
has the highest sugar level

of all our Proseccos.

Don't forget, dry when used
to describe sparkling wine

is actually fairly sweet.

What happens now?

Well, at the end of your meal you usually

have coffee and grappa.

Little did I know,

the Da Gigetto's sommelier Monica had curated one

of the best cellars in all of Veneto,

if not all of Italy.

So before our post dinner
digestif she gave us a tour.

I've seen cellars,

I've never seen anything like this.

How many bottles do you have here?

36,400.

Wow, that's something.

The most important part is 60% Italian wine

and 40% foreign country.

I see some French over there though.

- But I put there...
- We put a lock behind it.

Yes, of course.

How long have
you been working on this cellar?

16 years ago.

Fortunately I love this work.

It's an original well.

This well help me to maintain the humidity

of the wine cellar. - Oh, absolutely, yeah.

I'm sure you have things in here that are impossible

to get other places.

This is my favorite part of wine cellar

because this is my country.

This is Conegliano
Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

and people that came from south of Italy

or north of Italy I would like
that they taste the Prosecco

because I believe in Prosecco.

In the worst place I put the French white.

They go under there.

Thank you for showing me this.

Yeah, thank you, Monica.

Thank you to you.

All right, brown liquid, clear liquid,

what have we got? - Yes.

We have an espresso and a grappa.

You can have first your coffee and then your grappa

or you can put some of your grappa in your coffee

and make it a corretto.

You've had grappa before, right?

Only like once or twice.

It's not really a huge thing in America.

It's not, right.

In Italy it's a big thing,

especially in this area
because grappa originated

in this area.

I got a lot of flowers, a lot of purple flowers.

Oh yeah, purple. - Like violets.

Purple, as soon as you said purple.

Right, so do you know how to test

if a grappa is really good?

How drunk it gets you?

Well yeah, there's that.

But there's a very old school way to do it.

Okay, what is it? - Let me show you.

So you pour a little bit of grappa on your hand,

just a tiny little bit.

I feel like you're pulling a prank on me.

Okay, a little bit. - And then you

just do this with your hands and then you smell it.

What am I smelling for?

So if it smells like grapes it's a good grappa.

Oh, it definitely smells

like grapes. - Right, doesn't it?

Yeah, it straight up smells like grapes.

Love it, that's good.

I know, it's really good.

It's strong. - It's really strong.

It's strong.

But it's very smooth at the same time, right.

It doesn't burn as it goes down.

It's very smooth and now I'm going corretto.

Yeah, let's correct it.

That's a lot of grappa to put in a coffee.

Oh, are you only supposed to put in a little bit?

I thought you just dump it.

No, you don't.

I thought you just put it.

So that was not correct?

No, that's too correct.

I've over corrected.

You over corrected.

And now I cannot uncorrect.

Exactly.

I'm being honest, it's not that bad.

Good, I'm glad.

I didn't mess up that bad.

Well, this has been one of
the greatest trips of my life.

When you travel to Italy I think a lot of people go

to Venice, they go to, I don't know, Piedmont,

they go to Tuscany.

I think think more people need to come here.

It feels authentic. It feels real.

It's not far from Venice.

It's absolutely stunning.

I've never seen more,

the hillsides and the countrysides

and I think the number one thing from me

is the people here are amazing.

Yes.

Everybody is hospitable.

Everybody is excited that you're here.

I'm so happy that you got

to experience the Italian hospitality

and it was my pleasure to have you here.

You're the best.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. - Thank you, Vince.

One, two, three, go.

And with that, our trip to Prosecco was a wrap.

If I've learned one thing on this trip

it's that Prosecco goes with everything.

It goes with long afternoons
when you've left work early.

It goes with views.

It goes with every type of food imaginable.

It goes with cocktails in crowded bars

and it goes with sunsets and picnics with friends.

Pick a moment, a place, an event and adding Prosecco

would probably make it better.

Ciao, and we'll see you next time on V is for Vino.

Valdo. Valdo. Valdo.

Oh God, I'm tired.

I know.

Oh man, well this would.