Brown Brothers Prosecco 2008

Winemaker's Notes:

THE WINE This is the first release of the Brown Brothers Prosecco. The wine is part of our limited release range and will be available at Cellar Door and restaurants for this first release. The Prosecco is another example of Brown Brothers innovation and experimentation as we bring more and more styles of wine to our portfolio. The Prosecco has a pale gold colour with subtle green hues and a delicate nose displaying citrus, apple and pear characters. These characters follow through to the palate which is fresh and crisp with tight natural acidity from the cool climate fruit. Prosecco is made to drink young while at its light and delicate best. THE GRAPE VARIETY Prosecco is the name of an appellation in north east Italy as well as being the name of a variety. Sparkling Prosecco is made using the Charmat method of sparkling production which is in a pressurised tank to retain the bubbles. The grapes are generally harvested early to get high levels of natural acidity and fresh crisp flavours. The wine is drunk widely throughout its home country but is not commonly made outside of Italy. The best examples come from the cooler regions and hence we have Prosecco growing at our Banksdale vineyard at 485m above sea level in the King Valley. TECHNICAL INFORMATION The grapes for this wine were grown in Brown Brothers’ Banksdale vineyard in the upper reaches of the King Valley. The fruit was harvested in late February at baumé levels ranging from 9.8° to 11.1°. After primary fermentation the wine was the fermented in a pressure tank to 5 atmospheres of pressure and then bottled to retain the bubbles. The wine was bottled with an alcohol of 12.0%, a pH of 3.19 and acid level of 6.4 g/L. SERVING SUGGESTIONS The 2008 Prosecco is so fresh and crisp that it is a great drink on its own to kick off an evening. However, this wine’s attractive flavours would make it a suitable partner to pan fried scallops with a lemon influenced dressing or freshly shucked oysters. Try Prosecco with a selection of sushi and sashimi for a great combination.