Ever have trouble deciding between still and sparkling wine? Good news – the solution to this pressing problem is now available in the form of “Progrigio,” a white wine made with Prosecco and Pinot Grigio.
UK-based supermarket chain Asda is the brain behind this operation, inspired by rising Prosecco prices in Britain to create a low-cost option (one bottle of Progrigio comes in around $6 USD). The wine is made from a blend of Glera, the Prosecco grape, and Pinot Grigio, a popular (and less expensive) white wine grape.
Pinot Grigio is made from grayish-blue grapes, responsible for the wine’s name – grigio means “gray” in Italian. Pinot means “pine cone” in French, and signifies how the grapes are grown in small clusters. Italian Pinot is light-bodied and more acidic than its French counterpart (Pinot Gris is made from the same grape), and the grigio grapes are often harvested early to get a more refreshing acidity, creating a neutral flavor profile (and that’s why you drank this wine in college).
Prosecco is another Italian white wine, made from Glera grapes – these grapes are also used in small amounts in Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay blends. The name for Prosecco comes from an Italian village of the same name, where the grape is believed to have originated. Unlike Champagne, Prosecco is less expensive thanks to its production process – the secondary fermentation happens in stainless steel tanks rather than glass bottles. Prosecco is fermented before it’s bottled, so this is one wine that doesn’t get better with age…it should actually be drunk as young as possible. This Italian sparkling wine is relatively low in alcohol, and has a crisp, aromatic flavor that’s lightly fruity.
So, now that we know that Pinot Grigio and Glera are often blended anyway, Progrigio doesn’t seem like quite as much of a stretch. It allegedly tastes just like Prosecco, though some critics are calling it a “watered-down” version of the sparkling wine.
Ed Betts, Asda’s wine buying manager, said,”We always strive to keep prices as low as possible without compromising on quality and we believe Progrigio is the ideal affordable sparkling wine alternative. We want to protect the demand for sparkling wine by offering customers more choice, and by moving slightly away from the Prosecco region we have discovered a great example of quality fizz at an everyday price.”
In our expert opinion, Progrigio is definitely worth trying if you can get your hands on a bottle – any word on when this it’s coming to the states would be great appreciated.
So, where can we buy this wine in the USA???