Prosecco col fondo is Prosecco that finishes fermenting inside the bottle it is sold in and keeps its lees, the yeast left behind by fermentation. The name is Veneto dialect for "with the bottom," meaning the sediment in the base of the bottle. It is dry and cloudy, and most of it is lightly sparkling.
Almost all of it is Glera, the main grape of Prosecco, and most of it is sealed with a crown cap. You will also see it labeled sui lieviti, Italian for "on the lees," or rifermentato in bottiglia, "refermented in the bottle."
How col fondo compares to tank Prosecco and pét-nat
Col fondo and tank Prosecco come from the same grape and the same hills. They differ in where the bubbles form and what happens to the yeast afterward.
Scroll the table sideways to see all three columns
| Col Fondo | Tank Prosecco | Pét-Nat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grape | Glera, almost without exception | Mainly Glera, by law | Any grape |
| Where the bubbles form | Inside the bottle you buy | In a sealed pressure tank | Inside the bottle you buy |
| Method | Rifermentato in bottiglia, on the lees | Charmat method, also called the tank method | Méthode ancestrale |
| Yeast sediment | Left in, and visible in the base | Filtered out under pressure | Usually left in |
| Pressure | 1 to 2.5 bar as a frizzante, 3 bar or more as the DOCG's Sui Lieviti spumante | 3 bar or more as a spumante, 1 to 2.5 bar as a frizzante | Usually 1 to 3 bar, with no legal rule |
| Sweetness | Dry, with no dose added | Brut Nature to Demi-sec, set by a dose of sugar | Dry in almost every case |
| Closure | Crown cap | Cork and cage, or a screwcap | Crown cap |
| How it looks | Hazy, and cloudy once roused | Bright and clear | Hazy in most cases |
Frizzante and spumante are EU legal categories, measured at 68°F (20°C). A frizzante, or semi-sparkling wine, holds 1 to 2.5 bar of pressure. A spumante, or sparkling wine, holds at least 3 bar. One bar is close to one atmosphere.
Why some bottles say "sui lieviti"
In 2019 the EU approved a change to the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG rules that added Spumante Superiore Sui Lieviti, "on the lees." The wine must come from a single vintage, start its bottle fermentation between March 1 and June 30 after the harvest, keep its lees, and spend at least 90 days fermenting and on the lees before it goes on sale. The same rules list a Frizzante con rifermentazione in bottiglia, a semi-sparkling Prosecco refermented in the bottle.
Col fondo is the dialect name. Producers who work outside the DOCG rules use it, or rifermentato in bottiglia, on their labels. Either name means the sediment belongs in the bottle.
What col fondo tastes like
These are the four tasting notes we log most often across the col fondo we carry.
White peach
Soft orchard fruit, the note we log most often in these bottles
Lemon
A citrus note that comes with the wine's acidity
Pear
Ripe orchard fruit, a note tank Prosecco shows too
Bread
From the lees. The DOCG rules list bread crust and yeast as possible notes
- It is dry
- Tank Prosecco gets a measured dose of sugar, and the label term, from Brut Nature to Demi-sec, tells you how much. Col fondo is never disgorged, so it gets no dose. The yeast eats the sugar, and the wine usually ends up dry.
- The bubbles are soft
- A frizzante col fondo holds 1 to 2.5 bar of pressure, against at least 3 bar for a spumante, so it prickles on the tongue. Time on the lees gives it a fuller texture than a filtered wine.
- You choose how cloudy it pours
- Poured from a bottle left standing, col fondo comes out hazy and pale. Roll the bottle first and the yeast folds back in: the wine pours cloudy, with more of its savory, bready side.
- It goes with food
- Its dryness and the bread note from autolysis, the slow breakdown of the lees, suit salumi, fried vegetables, hard cheese and oily dishes.
How col fondo is made
- Glera is picked and pressed, and the juice ferments through autumn in tank or barrel.
- Winter cold slows the yeast and the fermentation stops early, with some sugar still unfermented.
- In spring the wine is bottled on that leftover sugar, or with a measure of the same wine's own must, and a crown cap goes on. For the DOCG's Sui Lieviti, the rules set this bottle fermentation between March 1 and June 30 after the harvest.
- The cellar warms and the yeast restarts. This time the carbon dioxide stays in the sealed bottle, and the wine finishes fermenting in the bottle you buy.
- The lees fall to the base and stay there. No disgorgement, no filtration, no dose of sugar afterward.
Is that the ancestral method or a second fermentation
It depends on one step. Where the wine stops in the cold and restarts in spring with nothing added, it has one fermentation, interrupted by the weather. That is the méthode ancestrale, and it makes the wine a pét-nat in all but name. Where the producer adds must or fresh juice to restart it, that is a second fermentation, the same principle Champagne uses to make its bubbles.
Either way the wine finishes in the bottle and keeps its lees, which is what the name describes. For the wider category, read our guide to pét-nat.
How to open and drink col fondo
- Chill it. Two or three hours in the fridge is enough.
- Choose clear or cloudy before you open it. Stand it upright and pour gently for a pale, hazy glass. Roll it slowly on its side a few times first for a cloudy glass with a broader taste. Both are correct.
- Open it with a bottle opener, over the sink. A crown cap comes off without warning.
- Pour into a wine glass rather than a flute. A wider glass leaves room for the aroma.
- Leave the last inch. The heaviest sediment settles at the bottom. Stop pouring when it starts to move, or split it between glasses.
Open it with salty food: prosciutto, fried sage, anchovies, grilled artichokes, hard aged cheese or fried chicken.
Common questions about col fondo
- Is col fondo the same thing as pét-nat?
- Often, in practice. Pét-nat names a method used anywhere, with any grape. Col fondo names one regional style: Glera from the Veneto, refermented in the bottle and left on its lees. A col fondo made with no additions is a pét-nat. A pét-nat from Chenin Blanc in the Loire is not a col fondo.
- Is the sediment safe to drink?
- Yes. The lees are spent yeast, the same material Champagne ages on before disgorgement. They give col fondo its bready flavor and its cloudy look.
- Why is it drier than the Prosecco I know?
- Nothing is added at the end. Tank Prosecco gets a dose of sugar, and the Brut, Extra Dry or Dry on its label tells you how much. Col fondo skips that step.
- Can I age it?
- We drink it within a year or two of bottling, while it is fresh.
- Why is it not called Prosecco on some labels?
- Prosecco became a protected designation of origin in 2009, and the grape is now called Glera. A wine made outside the Prosecco DOC or DOCG areas, or outside their rules, cannot use the word Prosecco, so it goes out under another name, such as Vino Frizzante.
Sources
- EU Regulation 1308/2013, Annex VII: sparkling and semi-sparkling wine categories
- EU Official Journal C 374 (2019): Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG amendment adding Sui Lieviti (in Italian)
- Consorzio Prosecco DOC: history of the Prosecco designations
- Consorzio Prosecco DOC: types and sweetness levels
- Consorzio Prosecco DOC: how Prosecco DOC is made
Try a col fondo
We carry col fondo from Costadilà, Casa Belfi, Col Tamarie and others working the same hills. They sit in our pét-nat collection alongside the wider category, since both are bottle-fermented and undisgorged.
Shop col fondo and pét-nat Shop Costadilà Read the pét-nat guide
