The DOCG strip.
The strip on the neck of a bottle of Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is the State seal, the fascetta: it’s printed by the Italian State Mint, carries the seal of the Republic and a unique serial number. It’s compulsory on every DOCG wine, goes over the closure and tears when you open. It says one thing: this bottle has been checked, and it is what the label says.
Valdobbiadene, explained · 5 November 2026 · 3 minutesWhat’s on it.
Six things, always the same: the emblem of the Republic; the name of the Ministry of Agriculture; the letters D.O.C.G.; a progressive number with a series of letters, different on every strip; the capacity of the bottle, 0.75 litres for ours; a barcode. On Conegliano Valdobbiadene there’s also the collective mark of the denomination: the rules always put it on the strip, which here is called the «substitute» of the State seal, but counts the same. No winery name: the strip belongs to the State, not to the producer.
How it gets there.
Strips aren’t bought by the box. Every batch of wine, before it becomes DOCG, passes a chemical analysis and a blind tasting by a panel. If it passes, the control body, Valoritalia, clears it for bottling and releases the strips for that batch: as many as the bottles. The ones left over go back. That’s why the number on the strip matters: behind it there’s a precise, checked batch, with its paperwork.
DOC and DOCG, on the neck.
On DOCG wines the strip is compulsory. Prosecco DOC, the wide denomination, nine provinces across Veneto and Friuli, adopted it too, and since November 2025 it has a new version, with the Italian tricolour and a QR code against counterfeits. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene Consortium has said the tricolour will come to the DOCG strips as well. The quickest way to tell them apart is still the acronym: DOC or DOCG.
How to read it in three seconds.
Look at the neck: is there a strip, with the seal? Does it say D.O.C.G.? Is the number printed, not handwritten? Three yeses, and you’re fine. Then read the label: «Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore» or «Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore» means hills, not plain. If the strip is missing, ask.
The two bottlesThree quick questions.
Is the number on the strip the bottle number?
No. It’s the serial number of the seal, unique for every strip printed by the State. It doesn’t say «bottle 412 of 1,500»: it says that strip exists once.
Is the strip the same for every DOCG wine?
The layout is the same across Italy: seal, Ministry, acronym, number. The colour changes, and some consortia add the mark of the denomination.
Can it be peeled off and put back?
No: it goes over the closure so that it tears on opening. It’s made not to be reused.
- Italian Ministry of Agriculture · decree on the seals for DOC and DOCG wines (2020) · masaf.gov.it
- Consorzio di Tutela del Conegliano Valdobbiadene · request of seals per certified batch · prosecco.it
- Production rules of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG (art. 4 and 7) · valoritalia.it