When we visited Mr. Giusti, as he’s called, last year, he was a bit tardy, showing up fashionably late in his hot red Ferrari. He got out, looked impeccably dressed like the sartorial Italian he is, and proceeded to tell us about his family’s history in the region, which dates back to the 1600s, and his stint in North America, in Canada, where he lived for 50 years. Our first thought was, “This dude is definitely not a farmer.” But in his heart, he is. He is incredibly thoughtful and respectful to the land for which his vines grow, and the wines he makes for the consumer. As befitting his exuberant persona, this self-styled “King of Prosecco” fashioned a winery that is a sight to behold. It’s all gravity flow comprising five stories, with a chandelier of blown glass that spans all five stories. The chandelier is designed to mimic bubbles rising in the glass. And does it ever! And so begins the story of Giusti Prosecco. 

Ermenegildo Giusti, the Noble of Conegliano – a title going back to the 1600s – chose to reinstate an old family tradition in 2004, purchasing two hectares of land to plant his Giusti Wine label. He didn’t grow up knowing or making wine, yet wine was already deeply rooted in his psyche, with a father who produced and loved wine, and a wife whose family owned the original Dal Col vineyard, dating back to 1945, the foundation on which Ermenegildo built his label. Today, his estate holdings cover about 75 hectares of land that produce both red and white wines, including this remarkable Brut Prosecco.

Made exclusively from the local glera grape, grown in the spectacularly beautiful Montello region and the Asolo hills, this is a serious wine – and seriously delicious Prosecco. This wine blends fruit from three distinct vineyards –  “Aria Valentina”, “Abbazia”, and “Siena” – all situated on steep slopes of red clay-based soils. The grapes are harvested and immediately pressed, then fermented in stainless steel tanks with carefully selected yeasts. The signature bubbles are produced via the Charmat method – where secondary fermentation occurs in special pressurized tanks known as autoclaves. The wine is then bottled under pressure a few months later. Asolo is a DOCG just like the more well-known Conegliano Valdobbiadene, but on a far more artisanal scale. Annual production for the region is some 24 million bottles, a mere fraction of the over 700 million bottles crafted in Conegliano Valdobbiadene each year.

This Brut Prosecco is delicately floral – with alluring sensations of wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, and white roses, plus an array of stone fruit notes like peaches and plums that evolve into flavors of zippy lemon zest, rich tangerine cream, fresh pineapple sage, nutty toasted almonds and vanilla bean, all complemented with a kiss of rosewater sweetness. This is drier than your typical Prosecco, with an extremely low dosage of just 3.5 g/l, making for a beautifully balanced presence of full fruit flavors and light floral prettiness, all carrying into a crisp and clean finish that will leave you popping a second bottle in no time! Please, we only beg of you to skip using it as a mixer – as many are apt to do with Prosecco – we promise you, this is a wine to enjoy all on its own!