How to read the label.

A Prosecco Superiore label says everything in a few lines: the denomination, the type, how much sugar, how much alcohol, who bottled it and where. Here’s what to look at, line by line, with ours as the example. Two minutes, and then you can read any bottle.

Valdobbiadene, explained · 5 November 2026 · 4 minutes

The denomination.

The most important line. «Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG», or «Conegliano Valdobbiadene», or just «Conegliano»: same rules, the hills. «Superiore» appears only in the DOCGs. Below there may be the mentions: «Rive di» and a village name; «Superiore di Cartizze»; «Millesimato», meaning at least 85% of the grapes from a single year, with the vintage; «sui lieviti». A Prosecco DOC just says «Prosecco DOC».

The type and the sugar.

«Spumante», almost always; «frizzante» is rare, the still version rarer. Then the sugar word: Brut, Extra Dry, Dry. It says how much is left in the wine, from the driest to the softest. SERALBA has a Brut and an Extra Dry.

The numbers.

The alcohol, 11.5% vol for ours, with a legal tolerance of half a degree. The volume, 750 ml, also written 75 cl. The lot, an L followed by a code: with it the winery traces the bottling day and the batch. It isn’t a bottle number, it’s a whole batch.

Who and where.

The name of the bottler and the municipality: by law it’s always there, even when the wine carries a brand’s name. Then «contains sulphites», which is on almost every wine in the world. And since December 2023 a QR code: it opens the electronic label, with ingredients and nutrition values. SERALBA’s leads to seralba.it/e/brut and seralba.it/e/extra-dry, with no advertising and no data collection.

The neck, and the back.

On the neck the numbered State strip, compulsory on DOCGs. On the back, on ours, the red line and the words SUNSET TO SUNRISE: they’re not compulsory, they’re SERALBA. On the bottle, the embossed V of Valdobbiadene.

The two bottles

Three quick questions.

What does Millesimato mean?

That at least 85% of the grapes come from a single year, the one on the label. The Rive must always state the vintage; the others may.

Why isn’t the vintage on every bottle?

Because it isn’t compulsory, except for the Rive. Many sparkling wines blend wines from different years to keep the same taste.

What does the QR code open?

The electronic label: ingredients, nutrition values, disposal information. It’s compulsory in Europe since December 2023 and can’t contain advertising.