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Review: VOGA Italia Prosecco DOC Still and Rosé

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A few weeks ago, I was asked if I would like to sample and review some offerings from VOGA Italia’s Prosecco DOC wine lineup, an occasional perk of my wine/food/travel writing. The timing was fortuitous on multiple levels. I’ve never been a big fan of prosecco, finding most of it too sweet for my palate, but as I mentioned in my write-up for the Sarasota Opera’s recent food and wine festival, I’d been talked into trying a couple that changed my mind.

In truth, I had forgotten about the inbound bottles in the hurricane-crazed weeks that followed. When we returned from our Orlando evacuation, I discovered an intact home (sans power) with only some fencing and tree limb issues and one badly waterlogged cardboard box on the porch. Having checked whether I had any pending deliveries before we left, I was surprised by the site and hoped that whatever was inside had either survived or not been of consequence.

The cardboard was soft enough to peel like a banana skin. Inside, I discovered two intact bottles of wine: VOGA Prosecco DOC Rosé and VOGA Prosecco DOC Still. A surprise wine delivery is never bad, but given that our cache of evacuation wine had expired the evening prior and the limited commerce available Friday afternoon, this find was like a gift from Dionysus himself.

Fortunately, my better half had not lost power, so we headed back to her place to chill the bottles in time for golden hour. Once they’d reached the proper temperature, we spread some truffle goat cheese on a dozen water crackers, topped them with yellow and orange cherry tomatoes, and made for the front porch and its brand-new view, which now includes two massive oak trees that were completely uprooted across the front lawn, along with most of a jacaranda that was taken down as they fell.

First, we tried the still, which comes in a streamlined bottle reminiscent of something more likely to hold trendy vodka or very trendy water. Still proseccos are somewhat uncommon. They use the same Glera grape but are made without carbonation, allowing one to fully appreciate the wine's subtle cashew and kiwi flavors. With a creamy base that reminded me of a mild chardonnay, this wine was definitely a palate-pleaser, and it paired quite well with the slightly salty canapés.

Moreover, I learned that I prefer still prosecco to bubbly. At just 95 calories per glass, it will make for low-guilt holiday cheer in the coming months, and at 10.5% ABV, the chic cylinder is the perfect “what to bring” for Sunday brunch. As is my habit, I refrained from looking at the suggested retail price until after I’d imbibed and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was only $14.99/750mL, making for a very impressive value.

For the rosé, we switched to a slightly sweeter accouterment: water crackers with plain goat cheese and raspberries/blackberries. As impressed as I was by the still, this fruit-forward bubbly danced across my taste buds from the first sip, and the jammy cherry aroma had all but won me over even before that. The pairing was perfect, but this is a subtle enough rosé to pair with saltier offerings. I suspect it will immediately find its way into my regular rotation.

With a suggested retail price of $15.99/750mL, it’s no surprise that VOGA Prosecco DOC Rosé landed on winesearcher.com’s Top Three Best Value Proseccos of 2024 list. It, too comes in a distinct bottle, clear with a carved pattern that is appropriately unique for this delicious wine.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, his Sunday opinion column has appeared in TBT since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. His novels and short story collection are available here.  

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