Prapian Estate

Prapian Estate works in the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, the heartland of serious Prosecco, north of Treviso in the Veneto.

Those hills were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2019 for their cultural landscape: narrow, steep ridges called hogbacks, formed by ancient tectonic folding, where vineyards, woodland and small settlements interleave. The slopes are worked entirely by hand because no machine can reach them, and growers refer to the labour as viticoltura eroica, heroic viticulture.

The distinction between the appellations matters. Prosecco DOC covers a vast flat area across the Veneto and Friuli; Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo are the two DOCG zones in the hills above, with lower yields and hand harvesting. Valdobbiadene sits at the western end and is generally held to give the finest wines of all. Glera is the grape, and the Charmat method keeps its pear and white-flower aromatics intact.