If a wine has the colour of topaz, an intoxicating bouquet, a mischievous sapidity and is already unforgettable after the first taste, one is most surely talking about the Prosecco of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene.
The production zone extends through the band of hills of the Province of Treviso and encompasses the area between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.
The zone encompasses a series of hill chains - running from east to west - which follow one after the other from the lowlands to the Pre-Alps, lying equidistant between the sheltering Dolomites to the north and the Adriatic, which has a positive effect on the climate and countryside.
While Conegliano plays host to famous wine institutes, Valdobbiadene is surely the zone's productive heart.
Venice is only 50 kilometres away and is easily reached by either train or car in a little over half an hour.
The production zone comprises the territory of 15 communities and covers an area of approximately 18,000 hectares (approx. 45,000 acres) of cultivated land. Vines, however, are grown only on the south-facing slopes of the hills at an altitude of 50 - 500 metres (approx. 165 - 1650 ft.) above sea level, while the north-facing slopes are often covered with woods.
There are currently more than 4,300 hectares (approx. 9,750 acres) entered in the DOC Register which are worked by 5,000 producers. Of these hectares, 106 belong to Superiore di Cartizze which, every year, produces more than a million bottles of the finest sparkling wine.
The steep slopes of the hills make it difficult to mechanize the work and consequently managing the vineyards has almost always been left in the hands of small growers.
Only towards Conegliano does one find a few of the larger producers.
As to the number of wineries, however, there has been a steady growth: numerous new entrepreneurs have gradually joined the ranks of producers which already counted among them four cooperatives and 15 large sparkling wine houses.
It is truly thanks to this large peaceful army of men and the love they have for their land that it has been possible to conserve these hills.
The many embankments, ramps and terraces have slowly moulded the sunny faces of the hills over the centuries, indelibly modifying their profiles.