Happy Friday!  I apologize that this post is a little bit later in the day than usual, but you will have to excuse me because we were out late last night at our friends' apartment who hosted an amazing Living Luxe for Less dinner party!  I will write more about this dinner in the next few weeks, but for today I will focus on one of the delicious wines we chose for the party.
 

Whenever we go to a friend's home we are eager to bring something that will contribute to the party, and for last night's dinner my friend suggested that I bring a bottle of Prosecco for us to enjoy as an aperitif.  This worked out perfectly for me because Prosecco is one of my favorite wines!  I even had to make a special request that they serve Prosecco at our wedding because I think it is so refreshing and delicious!  Another thing I love about Prosecco is the cost...compared to other sparkling wines like Champagne, it is a very reasonably priced wine!
 

In planning today's post I realized that although I know that I love the way Prosecco tastes, I don't know much about it's origins.  To learn more about this wine I went to an expert...one of my closest friends, Amanda Reade Sturgeon.  Amanda is the sommelier at Dovetail in New York City, and besides being one of my favorite people, she has a diverse and extensive background in the world of food and wine.
 

When I asked Amanda about Prosecco's origins she told me, "Prosecco, both the grape and the wine it produces, generally comes from the Veneto region in Italy.  Veneto is a region north of Venice, and the wines from this area are classified as Prosecco di Valdobbiadene and Prosecco di Conegliano, which is considered to be of the highest quality."

And when it comes to the actual production of Prosecco, Amanda explained to me that unlike champagne, this wine is produced using a method called Charmat.  In this method of wine production the secondary fermentation (this creates the bubbles) takes place in stainless steel tanks rather than in the bottle, making the wine less expensive to produce.  This is why the bubbles in Prosecco are bigger than those in Champagne.

Amanda has told me about many amazing wines throughout the years, and it was about five years ago when she first introduced me to Prosecco.  Needless to say it was love at first sip!  Prosecco is relatively low in alcohol at about 11 to 12 percent by volume, and it is the perfect wine to share before a meal or on a warm summer day because of it's light, crisp, and refreshing flavor.

If you are interested in picking up a bottle of Prosecco to enjoy this weekend, here are a few of Amanda's recommendations...

Drusian Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, $11.99

Althea Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, $15.99

Col Vetoraz Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, $13.99

Sorelle Bronca Prosecco di Conegliano, $14.99

Another thing to note about Prosecco is that it does not ferment in the bottle like Champagne, and it can go stale with time.  So Prosecco is best when it is consumed young, or at least within two years.
 

Because Prosecco is best when it is consumed right away, we brought a bottle of Prosecco to to our friend's apartment last night that we had bought earlier in the month: Riondo Prosecco. 

Riondo Prosecco is lightly carbonated and slightly sweet with hints of citrus and pear.

At $9.99 this is a very reasonably priced wine, and it was a nice refreshing way to start our meal!  I would definitely recommend this wine for you to try, and we plan on buying it again soon.

In the meantime I plan on going out and buying a bottle of the Drusian Prosecco that Amanda recommended.  I can't wait to enjoy it this weekend!

In the months to come I plan on featuring more affordable and delicious wine recommendations from Amanda, but in the meantime you can follow Amanda on Twitter @browniewine!

Will you be drinking any Prosecco this weekend?

Happy eating and drinking!