Glera, also known as Prosecco, is a white

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

of Slovenian origin, which was brought to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

village of

Prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. ...

( Slovene: ''Prosek'') from the Karst region. The variety was formerly mostly referred to as Prosecco, but in the EU was renamed "Glera" in 2009 to make room for the protection of "

" as the name of the Italian geographically-protected wine.Prosecco
,

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

. Glera is a rather neutral grape variety which is mainly cultivated for use in sparkling Italian wine styles, ''

frizzante Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

'' or ''

spumante Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne reg ...

'', from the various Prosecco

DOCG The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...

and

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

areas, although still wines also exist. It is grown mainly in the

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

region of Italy, traditionally in an area near

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th-century castle a ...

and

Valdobbiadene Valdobbiadene () is a town in the province of Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Valdobbiadene is a wine growing area. Just below the Alpine-Dolomite areas of Veneto, it provides a climate for a cool variety of grape (Glera). The Conegliano Valdobbiadene ar ...

, in the hills north of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

History

Glera is believed to be an old variety, and the name ''Prosecco'' was derived from the village

near

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, where the grape may have originated. It has been proposed that it was cultivated already in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times, possibly as the ''vinum pucinum'' praised by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, although that is not known with any certainty. It ranks about thirtieth in importance among the country's some 2,000 grape varieties.

Name change

Prosecco was traditionally used as the name for the grape variety. In Italy, it was also used more specifically for sparkling wines produced primarily from it, such as Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene, Prosecco di Conegliano and Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, all of which had

status, and there was also an IGT zone surrounding them. When the higher

status was sought for Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene, it became a complication that the grape (which had become cultivated over a larger area, including outside Italy) and the protected designation of origin had the same name. To resolve the issue, within the EU the old synonym Glera was officially adopted for the variety at the same time as the DOCG was approved in 2009. The change reduced the ability of other producers (in Italy and overseas) to label sparkling wines made elsewhere as "Prosecco" by using the grape variety's name. The name change was rejected by wine producers outside Italy, and leading wine experts including Jancis Robinson MW, Julia Harding MW and José Vouillamoz, who continue to refer to the grape variety as 'Prosecco'.

Relationship to other grapes

Glera is a parent variety of two Manzoni grapes, the red wine grape variety Incrocio Manzoni 2.15 (a crossing with Cabernet Sauvignon) and another red skinned variety known as Incrocio Manzoni 2.14 (a crossing with Cabernet Franc).J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 469-471, 594-595 Allen Lane 2012

Synonyms

Glera is also known under the synonyms Ghera, Glere, Prosecco Tondo,

, Prosecco Balbi, Prosecco Bianco, Prosecco Nostrano, Prosecco Tondo, Proseko Sciprina, Serpina, and Uva Pissona.

References

{{wines White wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy Wine grapes of Veneto Prosecco