The British prefer prosecco to champagne
There’s a sparkling white wine that the English are going crazy about, and that wine is Prosecco! This delicious spumante produced in the province of Treviso recently received UNESCO recognition: the hills around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, home to Prosecco Superiore, are now considered part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage that merits protection. Although recent studies and tabloid articles in the UK have tried to stain prosecco’s reputation by saying that it causes tooth decay and is toxic for the environment as the cultivation methods used are intensive and unecological, they have not been able to deter the nation’s passion for prosecco that its citizens continue to demonstrate.
The English market is the second biggest after Italy
The Italians have long considered Prosecco a high-quality product; now the rest of the world is waking up to this fact! For years it was considered the “poor cousin” of champagne, but this is no-longer the common view, especially in the eyes (and mouths) of the British. The first to assert this was an article published in The Independent newspaper, and the export figures which show a boom in sales to the UK provide the proof. Year after year, the consumption of prosecco in the UK has doubled. In 2022, it was second only to that of Italy, and the UK’s taste for prosecco necessitates that 120 million bottles cross the English Channel each year.
For what occasions do the English choose prosecco?
For wedding receptions in particular, the English now prefer Veneto’s sparkling white to champagne. A recent poll carried out online by “Hitched”, a popular website for wedding planning, revealed that 55% of couples would prefer prosecco to champagne to toast their marriage; and this is not because the former costs less than the latter, but because it is their absolute favourite. Prosecco is also the first choice for Christmas celebrations. Unfortunately, Brexit has made the logistics of exporting more complicated, and not always are the English able to procure the quantities they want of this Italian wine. Let’s hope that the situation improves over the next few years; in the meantime, the local retailers are doing their best to satisfy demand.
