Prosecco’s grape is Glera. If mildew years get worse, the hills need a Plan B that still tastes like home.
Canale Vino reports seven Glera-derived resistant varieties are close to registration. They are bred to cut sprays while keeping kinship with the sparkling base Italy exports worldwide. The science is moving. The law is slower. EU rules already open doors for PIWI in some denominations elsewhere. Italy still bars them from DOC and DOCG labels that shoppers trust on supermarket shelves.
Mini-concept: a denomination is a shared promise — place, grape list, method. Change the grape list and you change the promise. That is why Italy hesitates even when the vineyard logic is clear. Drinkers buy “Prosecco” as a word they recognise. Regulators guard that word carefully.
For intentional drinkers the debate matters. Fewer sprays can mean healthier slopes and cleaner stories. But a new cross on the label only helps if the glass still feels like the celebration you meant to open — not a lab experiment. Taste trials and honest naming will decide trust.
Hold one pattern: seven daughters at the registration door, DOC/DOCG still closed. Resistance is ready. The name on the bottle is the harder fight.