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"Audace" Prosecco Doc Trieste by Serena Wines 1881 and Parovel 1898 cradled in the depths of the Gulf of Trieste
Vinitaly
November 16 2022
It was 1922, exactly one hundred years ago, when the San Carlo quay in Trieste was renamed “Audace” to commemorate the landing of the destroyer of the same name, the first ship in Italy's navy. At much the same time, in 1921 to be precise, another event of historical significance took place: the coastline of Trieste saw the first Prosecco wine made with the traditional method of refermentation in the bottle. A century later, in September 2022, 6,492 bottles of the first vintage of “Audace” came on to the market - an “Underwater wine” developed through the wine-making project launched by Serena Wines 1881 and Parovel 1898. Two historical families in world of wine joining forces to make a dream come true: produce a sparkling Prosecco wine made with grapes from the Trieste Karst area aged at a depth of 20 metres in the Gulf of Trieste. Ageing and refinement involve natural parameters that change with the seasons and even the changing winds: an assurance for a singular and exceptional wine. So, here we have an underwater cellar in an area measuring 67 square metres home to 14 steel crates, where the bottles are cradled by the effects of the Bora and Scirocco winds. Fish, molluscs, a few starfish and expert divers take turns to check the progress and condition of the bottles.
To find out more, Vinitaly interviewed Luca Serena, the fifth generation of Serena Wines 1881 and today in charge of the company.
How did the idea of Prosecco Audace Trieste come about? Prosecco Audace Trieste was inspired by my personal bond with the city of Trieste and friendship with Elena and Euro Parovel of Parovel Vigneti Oliveti 1898. We decided to team up and give life to this project uniting the Veneto and Friuli regions in the Prosecco designation. Can you explain to us what happens on the seabed during ageing? Ageing at the bottom of the sea involves different conditions than those found in normal wine cellars on firm land. The pressure is 2 atmospheres, when it is usually just 1. Light conditions are very different: in addition to being in almost total darkness, light spectra are not the same as those occurring on land. The quantity of dissolved oxygen is almost nil and, lastly, wave motion oscillates the bottles. Are any particular methods used to keep sparkling wine when aged underwater? After the Prosecco was bottled and labelled, the label itself was covered by a larger sticker and the cork with a heat-shrink capsule. All the bottles were then placed in crates and lowered to the bottom of the Gulf, leaving the marine micro-organisms in charge. What role does cork play in micro-oxygenation during underwater ageing? There is no passage of oxygen, since the cork is encased by a capsule and in any case there is almost no dissolved oxygen at this depth. Can you give us a brief sensory description of this particular product for people who haven't tasted it yet? This is a very unusual Prosecco with an impressive, dry and iodized character. Straw yellow with green reflections, matched by an extraordinarily fine and compact sparkle. White flowers and sapid, white-fleshed fruit embrace the nose, while each sip unfolds on the palate the unexpected mineral qualities of Glera grapes from the Karst region. Very agreeable acidity blends well with the deep and harmonious residual sugar. Which was the first international market to open a bottle of Prosecco Audace Trieste? Austria was our first international market. One of our long-standing customers in Vienna purchased some bottles to distribute in Austria's capital, given the link with Trieste during the Hapsburg Empire, when Princess Sissi spent her holidays by the sea.
How did the idea of Prosecco Audace Trieste come about? Prosecco Audace Trieste was inspired by my personal bond with the city of Trieste and friendship with Elena and Euro Parovel of Parovel Vigneti Oliveti 1898. We decided to team up and give life to this project uniting the Veneto and Friuli regions in the Prosecco designation. Can you explain to us what happens on the seabed during ageing? Ageing at the bottom of the sea involves different conditions than those found in normal wine cellars on firm land. The pressure is 2 atmospheres, when it is usually just 1. Light conditions are very different: in addition to being in almost total darkness, light spectra are not the same as those occurring on land. The quantity of dissolved oxygen is almost nil and, lastly, wave motion oscillates the bottles. Are any particular methods used to keep sparkling wine when aged underwater? After the Prosecco was bottled and labelled, the label itself was covered by a larger sticker and the cork with a heat-shrink capsule. All the bottles were then placed in crates and lowered to the bottom of the Gulf, leaving the marine micro-organisms in charge. What role does cork play in micro-oxygenation during underwater ageing? There is no passage of oxygen, since the cork is encased by a capsule and in any case there is almost no dissolved oxygen at this depth. Can you give us a brief sensory description of this particular product for people who haven't tasted it yet? This is a very unusual Prosecco with an impressive, dry and iodized character. Straw yellow with green reflections, matched by an extraordinarily fine and compact sparkle. White flowers and sapid, white-fleshed fruit embrace the nose, while each sip unfolds on the palate the unexpected mineral qualities of Glera grapes from the Karst region. Very agreeable acidity blends well with the deep and harmonious residual sugar. Which was the first international market to open a bottle of Prosecco Audace Trieste? Austria was our first international market. One of our long-standing customers in Vienna purchased some bottles to distribute in Austria's capital, given the link with Trieste during the Hapsburg Empire, when Princess Sissi spent her holidays by the sea.