Against Prosecco
what does wine mean to you?
Don’t worry, there isn’t a Prosecco shortage – and in many ways that is quite remarkable. Last year sales of Prosecco went up by 25% in the UK, a trend that’s been going on for some years now. Yearly Prosecco sales now outstrip Champagne by 15 million litres in Europe — some 55,000 bottles per day. The UK’s love affair with Prosecco even tampers with the illegal. A number of pubs have had to rebrand their ‘Prosecco on tap’ as ‘frizzante’ in compliance with DOC regulations that Prosecco must be served from a bottle.
Whilst almost all wine stockists will now carry Prosecco, you get the impression that some of them only do it because they have to. Frequent comparisons between Prosecco and Champagne have more to do with colour and sparkle than quality or history. In 2013, as Prosecco’s sales continued their all-out assault on the market, the Guardian’s Fiona Beckett wrote that
“A lot of the prosecco circulating at the moment is just plain nasty. It’s thin and slightly chemical-tasting — and you wonder why people don’t just drink cava, which is generally a bit cheaper.”
Watch out Fiona — the 2012 Cava boom is still a raw memory for some of us.
Certainly part of the answer, as Fiona goes on to explain, is in Prosecco’s palatability. It’s quite a bit sweeter than Champagne, (typically 15–16g of sugar per litre compared to 9–10g in Champagne), has a less aggressive fizz, a lower price point, and a fresher taste (~11% instead of ~ 12.5% ABV). All of these give it broader market appeal, and make it a more appealing party drink.
But honestly, if you handed out Prosecco and Pino Grigot with a packet of yeast thrown in, I reckon very few of us would be able to tell the difference. So why does Prosecco continue to sell so well? The answer begins with a question: what does wine mean to you?
Champagne means luxury and sophistication. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, leading Champagne manufacturers made efforts to associate their product with royalty. Rumours persist that the Champagne coupe was modeled on Marie Antoinette’s left boob; unlikely, since its first documented use was over a century before she was born. Still, these associations led to a steep rise in Champagne’s popularity amongst the emerging and aspirational middle classes — and the truth never did stop Kate Moss.
Its skin-deep similarities with Champagne lend Prosecco some class, but ultimately Prosecco has a rather different vibe. If Champagne means sophistication, Prosecco just means fun. Drink Champagne from the bottle and you look like a tosser. Neck Prosecco and you’ve got yourself a new Twitter bio.
Champagne means sophistication and Prosecco means fun, but both wines go beyond that, too. Prosecco doesn’t just mean fun, it’s a means of fun. Pop open a bottle of Plaza Centro (Tesco, £6.75) and you might as well be pouring a glass of the good times. Throw a bottle of Pol Roger on ice (Waitrose, £37.50), and you’ve transformed your budget house-warming into a Tatler double-page spread. These bubblies aren’t just signs of happiness and opulence; treat them right and they’ll bring a sense of happiness and opulence along with them. They are transformative.
Wine has always been central to the Christian faith – not least since the night when Jesus passed a cup of wine around his disciples, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” This remembrance is carried out in services of the Eucharist world-wide, as Christians share bread and wine together – and it means something. It means grace. Grace for the past – the wine of Jesus’ blood, an offer that goes out to every human of full and free atonement for guilt – and grace for the future – the sort of future best spoken of by rich wine. But wine doesn’t just mean: it’s a means.
If Prosecco is a means of fun, the wine of the Eucharist is a much greater means – a means of grace, bringing a sense of grace with it when it’s received rightly. Christians from around the world come to the Communion table under the shadow of all manner of sins and sorrows and find that Jesus’ grace is still there for them. That’s what grace means really: forgiveness and joy that don’t depend on you, what you’ve done, or where you’ve been. A glass of Prosecco can lighten the brightest summer day. The wine of Communion can bring redemption to the darkest winter night.
What does wine mean to you? For the Christian, only one word will do: grace. Here is true sweetness, fresh and free for the body and soul.
