5 Reasons Why You Should Completely Ignore Anyone Who Ever Says Anything Negative About Prosecco

Prosecco is wonderful. We love it. A huge swathe of the UK wine drinking population absolutely loves it and yet we still occasionally hear or read something less than complimentary about our beloved Prosecco. It’s a sad fact that we’re all well aware of, that the media love to focus on the negative and make a huge deal out of something laughably trivial and usually nonsensical. Well, we’re going to fight back on behalf of Prosecco and have a good look at the origins and details of the negativity towards Prosecco.

Articles About Prosecco Attract Readers

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five years, you’ll be well aware that this amazing Italian Sparkler is wildly popular at the moment. Everyone wants to know about the latest Prosecco brand, that innovative Prosecco cocktail and, in particular, which Prosecco brand is the best value. Consequently, any article published on-line or in print that has anything at all to do with Prosecco will be read by the information hungry, wine enthusiast masses.

We all know that bad news attracts readers and when the poorly informed mass media run out of happy stories about Prosecco, they start looking for something negative to throw out there because they know that Prosecco is a very popular search term. Let’s take a look at some of the most recent headlines where Prosecco takes a bit of a bashing and see just why it’s usually a load of old tosh:

• The “Infamous” Prosecco Smile
  
  Apparently, drinking Prosecco increases your risks of accelerated tooth decay according to some dentists, who preferred to remain nameless. This is because it is fizzy and has some sugar in it. Um…. Hello? How ridiculous is that? There are literally hundreds, if not, thousands of different fizzy drinks out there in the marketplace that contain sugar. More often than not they contain a lot more sugar than Prosecco as well and we don’t see them making the headlines in such a dramatic fashion, do we?
  
  We’re all grown-ups here and we know how to clean our teeth. However, if you’re feeling terribly paranoid about developing a Prosecco smile, you could always use a straw. Careful with that though, we find that drinks always seem to disappear that much quicker when drinking through a straw!

• Drinking Wine With Your Meal Is Fattening
  
  This is an old classic that rears it’s foolish head every now and again and manages to get re-hashed by writers from some pretty high profile organisations which we won’t mention for legal reasons. Apparently, drinking wine while eating a meal can add 400 to 500 calories to your meal. Now, I will refer you to my comment in point 1 above that we’re all adults here and we drink in moderation. A glass of Prosecco contains about 80 calories, so, in order to add 400 calories to your meal you would have to drink 5 glasses of Prosecco whilst eating. A bottle of Prosecco contains about 5 and a half to 6 glasses. Drinking an entire bottle of Prosecco during the course of a single meal would not be drinking in moderation, would certainly not be recommended and we doubt very much whether anyone of sound mind would be doing that sort of thing on a regular basiis.
  
  I, personally, know of several people who would think nothing of polishing off a couple of cans of fizzy soft drink whilst eating, especially on a hot day. Unless it’s a sugar free or diet drink, you’re looking at about 150 calories per 330ml can there, and yet you never see sensationalist headlines saying, “Drinking soft drinks with your meal is fattening!”  

• Champagne is a better sparkling wine than Prosecco and that’s why it’s more expensive
  
  This is a comment made by the poorly informed or the seriously pompous. The fact is that Prosecco and Champagne are completely different types of sparkling wine made using completely different methods, with different grapes, in different countries. However, it isn’t as simple as comparing cola and orangeade. Prosecco is usually made using the “Charmat” method which basically means that the wine ferments in sealed stainless steel containers. This production method is very efficient and produces a lighter sparkling wine with flavours and bouquets that appeal to a broader spectrum of wine drinkers. Efficient production means that the end product can be priced accordingly. There is also the fact that Prosecco sells in massive bulk all over the world and, as with all products, the more you sell, the lower the price can be whilst still making the producer a tidy profit.
  
  Champagne is a much more acquired taste. The production method involves the wine fermenting in the bottle which is expensive and inefficient. Its exclusivity, decadent reputation and strong association with celebrations also mean that prices tend to be higher. Champagne can only be made by producers in the “Champagne region” of France who have traditionally charged high prices for their products. It sounds a little like madness but the high price of Champagne gives it that touch of class that makes Champagne drinkers feel like they’re being super indulgent.
  
  So, to address the original point, Champagne isn’t a better quality of sparkling wine than Prosecco. They are different products, although it certainly isn’t as basic as simply a taste difference.

• Your Prosecco has toxic pesticides in it
  
  Here we go again with the pesticides issue and why do the media particularly focus on Prosecco? It’s a buzz word, that’s why. We’ve read report after report about how Prosecco vineyards in the Veneto region of North Eastern Italy are having to use potentially harmful pesticides on their vines in order to keep up with huge demand for the sparkler. If you take the time to read these articles, they are also obliged to mention that the traces of these pesticides found in Prosecco are far below the maximum legal limit set by European standards, and in such small quantities are deemed completely harmless by the Health and Safety Executive. Unless the product is completely organic, this situation is exactly the same for almost all consumables.
  
  Grape vines are extremely susceptible to pests and the cost of maintenance and risk of crop failure mean that Prosecco grapes grown completely organically would be very expensive and would obviously result in very expensive bottles of Prosecco.
  
  Independent health studies conducted in the area of Italy where Prosecco is made have revealed that incidents of health conditions potentially associated with pesticide use are no higher than the expected average for such conditions amongst the general human population in any area of the country.

• Overproduction of Prosecco is bad for the environment
  
  You can read all sorts of articles about this issue; they seem to pop up all the time when the media are looking to bash mass producers of any food product or beverage. The media just pick on whatever product is topical at the time and they’re not always in the right. Once again, if you apply a little logic to this argument it’s another one that doesn’t make sense. Prosecco glera grapes can only be grown in a certain area of Italy in the Veneto region covering about 20,000 hectares, just as Champagne can only be produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. The vineyard owners in this area have made their living from wine-making for many hundreds of years and they have to follow strict guidelines from their own experts, local government and wine-making authorities with regards to the sustainability of grape production and artificial pesticide use. Vineyard owners are hardly likely to risk damaging their land for the sake of increasing one year’s profits if they want to be able to continue producing high quality fruit year on year. They have successfully managed their land for centuries; we think they’re probably the experts here.

Wine is supposed to be enjoyed. Prosecco in particular, is an immensely enjoyable wine. Don’t let the sensationalist media spoil your enjoyment with their negativity. Go on, pop open a bottle of Prosecco and drink to life! (In moderation, obviously!)