“Tiny Bubbles” in Col San Martino

Col San Martino – Prosecco DOC   

Wine festivals are nothing strange in Italy, particularly this time of year. However, there are few wine festivals that offer only a specific type of wine. Since the 15^th of March (ending on the 6^th of April) the small town of Col San Martino has had their annual Prosecco DOC festival. This festival originally started in 1949, but wasn’t official until 1957. Every year this small town has a wonderful selection of DOC Prosecco that you can enjoy night in and out for a period of about 3 weeks.

Here’s what happens. You arrive in this small town and find the barn-like structure that houses the event. There is no entry fee, the only thing you are required to pay for are your bottles of Prosecco and the plates of endless sliced meat, cheese, and bread that you can choose from to accompany the meal. I suggest arriving before 8pm because the best bottles of Prosecco are given out then and there is the possibility to find a table, after 8pm the place fills up fast and the people who have been there for a few hours tend not to vacate the tables. However, I enjoyed a large meat plate of sliced pork, three different types of salamis, both cured and raw ham, mortadella, and something that resembled beef but I wasn’t quite sure what it was…maybe horse? It was good surprisingly enough. The plate also had a large row of cheese selection that had the right "cutting" ability against all of the meat, it actually cleansed the palate. The breads were light and filling and I’m told that they are baked in a wood burning oven. There was singing and dancing and I was caught in the middle of an Italian drinking song without even knowing it, and consequently things got a little “dizzy” for a few minutes.

The evening carried on until midnight when the entire place was shut down and everybody went home. It was truly a unique event and I’ll happily attend next year as well. It’s the perfect type of wine for the cool spring evenings in the Italian country side. If you’re in the area, definitely stop by for a night…you won’t be disappointed.

You can find more information here, although all the information is in Italian…I couldn’t find an English version of the webpage.