And if you like pet nat, try the bottle-fermented cousin of regular prosecco, which has bolder aromas and a deeper flavour, as if the volume has been turned up.
Mike Bennie
After 20 or so years of wine and drinks writing, I never thought I would type this sentence: I found the ultimate prosecco for spritz. That’s the snobby wine writer bias kicking in.
Wine elitists dismiss prosecco as champagne’s unserious cousin. Sommeliers and posh wine shops bemoan the necessity and its rising status in the world of drinks, yet it’s fizzy, frothy, fruity fun, and oh, wildly popular.
But importantly for our query, prosecco forms the baseline of one of the most common cocktails in the universe: the spritz.
The bones of the Italian-born cocktail are pretty straightforward – use a bittersweet, herbal or citrusy, aromatic liqueur and cut that with sparkling wine, usually prosecco, and combine the two over ice in a big glass. In Australia, local prosecco works well with Campari-like switch-outs such as Poor Tom’s Imbroglio, or for a little extra x-factor, the native Australian plum aperitif called Tanica (both brands are born in Sydney).
Instead of doing the hard yards at bottomless prosecco brunches, checking out the gear at CBD suit bars, or chaperoning hens’ and bucks’ parties in stretched Hummers, I went for something more academic – collated 20 examples from Australia and Italy, and did a tasting.
The best recipes from Australia’s leading chefs straight to your inbox.
Sign up
The spritz were measured loosely, notes taken more so. Some were charming solo but fell apart in the cocktail blend. Some were too sweet; some had bubbles that felt lethargic. The best ones showed clarity, had that refreshment factor and delivered a little of that ephemeral notion of “complexity”.
What is apparent is that Australian prosecco is in cracking form. Italian prosecco has to travel a long way and perhaps freshness can wane a little in the journey, so leaning into local seems apt.
Here are our top three
3. Corte Carista Prosecco NV (Prosecco, Italy, $12)
This racy, refreshing one from ALDI is a surprise package. And at $12, it’s absurd value. It’s not elevating the category, but it’s wickedly fresh, sizzling with bubbles and mercifully dry.
2. Chalmers Dott Prosecco 2025 (Murray Darling, Victoria, $27)
The local runner-up is from a legend of Italian varieties grown in Australia. A charming take on prosecco, it’s more restrained than above, disarmingly thirst-slaking, with creaminess and a little X factor courtesy of a floral lift. There’s dried pear and apricot characters, more classic peach, green mango and lime.
1. Dal Zotto Pucino Prosecco NV (King Valley, Victoria, $21)
The winner is from one of Australia’s pioneers of the variety. It ups the ante with minerally charm, delivering crisp, tropical fruit characters, and nails a sorbet-like citrusy freshness. Bone-dry, chalky in texture and with energising bubbles, it’s loaded with green apple snap and grapefruit pithiness. A nutty savouriness seals the deal. All of this locked in beautifully with Aperol and, with a street price of $21, it demolishes the field.
But if you like pet nat, buy this prosecco instead
In the Italian prosecco universe, there’s a lesser-sung style that consistently grabs my attention. It’s called Col Fondo, and it’s the hush-hush, unfiltered, naturally cloudy, bottle-fermented cousin of regular prosecco. These wines feel alive, unpredictable and distinctly rebellious in comparison to their button-down kin.
The style unlocks prosecco’s hidden potential and tends to deliver more savouriness, bolder aromas, deeper flavour and intriguing texture. The volume is turned up and the bassline is funky.
There’s an obvious kinship to pétillant naturel (pet nat) wines, which are also naturally fermented in the bottle and typically lightly sparkling.
Alive with yeast, they’re slightly rustic and a lot of fun. And Australian producers are now in on it, too.
Standouts from recent tastings include Vinea Marson Col Fondo Prosecco 2022, a bright, saline and hazy sparkling with dried floral characters not dissimilar to fino sherry, preserved lemon and nashi pear fruitiness.
Cavedon Col Fondo Prosecco 2022 lands a little more clarity from the style. Still hazy in look and feel but with bristling spritz and citrusy freshness in tow.
Dal Zotto once again makes the honour roll, and are long-term proponents of the style. Dal Zotto produce two versions, and have current releases of Col Fondo Pucino Prosecco 2022, a more approachable, zippy and fresh rendering, and ‘Tabelo’ Col Fondo 2021, a deeply flavoured, richer, more serious style.
To channel Rupi Kaur, prosecco is the journey, Col Fondo is the adventure.
