Alice "Ose" Brut Nature Rosé, Veneto, Italy NV

The Wine:

(From the producer)

A non-dosage sparkling rosato with a unique twist: Marzemino! Besides being Mozart’s favorite (“Versa il vino! Eccellente Marzemino!” [2:30-2:50]), Marzemino lends both aromatics and acidity to the Glera in ‘Ose’. 

WHO: Cinzia Canzian, a long time proponent of organic vineyard management and champion of the native varieties and wine traditions of her home region.  

WHERE: In the northern part of the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene zone, near Vittorio Veneto. Soils are of glacial moraine origin: chalky, rocky, lean, and full of minerals.   

TASTING NOTE: Lingonberries, barely ripe red fruits, and a commanding, pulsing acidity. Minute bubbles, great length. due of the degradation of iron-rich rocks. Carpesica vineyard (Glera) is lean, glacial-origin moraine, with abundant rock, dolomia stones. 

VARIETIES: 60% Marzemino and 40% Glera. 

VINE AGE: 40 years old. 

VINE TRAINING: Sylvoz. 

HARVEST DATE: Second half of September. 

YEASTS: Native.  

FERMENTATION: Marzemino and Glera grapes are destemmed and separated then undergo spontaneous primary fermentation. Assemblage follows, after which wine matures on fine lees for 3 months. Secondary fermentation takes place in steel tank (charmat method) with must from the vintage. No dosage. 

MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: Yes. 

SULPHUR: maximum 30 mg/L added. 

ALCOHOL: 11.50%. 

ANNUAL PRODUCTION: 700 cases. 

The Producer:

• Grower Prosecco from the base of the Dolomites.
• Brut is house style, and has been since beginning.
• Classy, elegant, mineral driven Prosecco: wild apples, and mountain flowers – instead of a fruit-forward style (as you see in Extra Dry).
• Long charmat, bottle fermented pet-nat, and metodo classico bottlings.
• Practicing organic, low-sulphur.

Cinzia Canzian, after an experience of almost two decades working for her husband’s winery and the Prosecco consortium, started Le Vigne di Alice in 2004, inspired by memories of her grandmother Alice’s osteria or tavern, where conviviality and wines like A Fondo and Tajad flowed. Her vision was – and is – to bottle artisanal, grower Prosecco that speaks of the grapes and soil, from vineyards at the base of the Dolomites near her home, but also to make sparkling wines that are bone-dry Brut, or even Brut Nature (i.e., no dosage). We call it Prosecco for non-Prosecco lovers (a category that includes us). Alice’s Brut Nature style was the first in the Prosecco area to really get the attention of sommeliers and wine lovers looking for something to pair instead of Champagne, and it is still considered one of the best. 

Read more about the producer.