ZANOTTO COL FUNDO

Riccardo Zanotto simply loves food, wine, and tradition. He is one of a small group of producers in the Prosecco region that is bringing back the traditional way of making Prosecco using a traditional method. This method requires a first fermentation using the Charmat method, aging of the wine over the winter, and then a second fermentation on the lees in the bottle. These wines are called ‘Col Fundo’ which means – on the sediment – because the lees are left in the bottle and form a small deposit at the bottom of the bottle. This sediment allows the wine to be preserved for years without the need to add any sulphites.

Riccardo vinifies a portion of his family’s grapes in the Col Fundo style each year. The family’s vineyards are located near Tarzo – which is in the heart of the Prosecco region. The grapes are hand-harvested in September. A first fermentation happens when the must is left in contact with the skins for 2 days. Then the wine is decanted off to stop the fermentation and stored in refrigerated tanks over the winter. The following spring the wines are placed into bottles for the second fermentation. These wines are natural, unfiltered, and with no added sulphites. Zanotto wines are the traditional grapes vinified in the traditional way before the large autoclaves came to Prosecco. These rich and flavourful wines will remind you more of Champagne than Prosecco.

Once you try a Col Fundo Prosecco you will never want any other Prosecco.