Prosecco is its own grape, and it tastes completely different than chardonnay and pinot noir (the grapes of Champagne). This white grows in northern Italy and makes a simpler sparkler that charms with its easy-going nature, rather than being complex to the point of fussy.

This particular bottle has a strong earthy and floral quality that goes from the nose all the way through the palate. The flavor is definitely funky, but also kind of alluring: like a pretty girl dancing and sweaty. Really sweaty.

An amazing sight can be viewed throughout much of the Veneto region. After work, men with the machismo of Bruce Willis meet at bars and confidently sip Prosecco out of flutes, holding the glass with as much bravado as one can muster when gripping a glass stem between a thumb and two fingers.

Now that’s a sight to see before the horsemen show up singing “Cuts Like a Knife.”

Cheers,
TSW

As a clear, irrefutable sign of the Apocalypse, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams are touring together this year. Since the end – a horrible, surely painful end – is near, it’s time to see, say, do and try all those things you haven’t yet gotten around to.

If Prosecco is one of those things still on your “to try” list, scratch it off with this bottle. If not one of the best, it’s at least representative of the varietal, and it’s cheap enough to keep cash in your pocket and help for that naked-skydiving excursion you've been meaning to get around to (and other to-do’s left unchecked).

First, let’s do away with first impressions: Prosecco, though bubbly and donning the word “Brut” on the label, is not Champagne. Don’t think of it as such, or one of your last new experiences on this planet will be a letdown.