Why it matters
The producer
Umberto Bortolotti opened his winery in 1947 with a diploma from the Scuola Enologica di Conegliano and a specific idea about what Valdobbiadene Prosecco could be. He did not simply make wine in the appellation. He helped construct it: co-founder of the Prosecco Confraternity in 1946, co-founder of the Protection Consortium in 1962, co-founder of Italy's oldest Wine Route in 1969. The rules that now govern Prosecco production in Valdobbiadene were shaped, in part, by the same man who ran this house.
The winery moved to its permanent Valdobbiadene address in 1954 and has not moved since. Bruno, Umberto's son, continued the work. Daniele, Bruno's nephew, runs alongside him today. Three generations, one address, one appellation.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Valdobbiadene sits in the Treviso hills of Veneto, northeast Italy, at the western end of the Prosecco zone. The appellation, Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG, covers steep hillside parcels where the terrain makes mechanical harvesting difficult and altitude pushes growing season later into autumn. The primary grape is Glera, an aromatic, relatively low-tannin white variety that produces wines with vivid floral character and bright acidity when grown at elevation.
The DOCG designation, introduced formally in 2009, separates Valdobbiadene from the broader Prosecco DOC zone. Wines from this appellation carry higher regulatory requirements: maximum yields are lower, hand-harvesting is more common, and single-vineyard Rive designations are permitted for parcels within individual villages. Bortolotti's signature wine draws on one such parcel, the Piai Alto vineyard in the village of Cison di Valmarino, at 270 to 330 metres altitude.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Bortolotti works with farming partners who use organic methods across the parcels that supply the winery. Copper and sulfur applications replace synthetic pesticides and fungicides, which at these altitudes and hillside exposures reduces disease pressure without chemical residue in the fruit.
Harvesting is done by hand across the range, a choice that matters most on steep Valdobbiadene hillsides where mechanical equipment cannot operate safely and where gentle handling of Glera clusters preserves the aromatic freshness the grape produces. The harvest decision is followed by careful sorting before fermentation.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built around Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG and anchored by the Sui Lieviti. The Brut and Extra Dry 47 represent the house's accessible tier: tank-method Proseccos produced from Glera across the DOCG zone, each named in part after the founding year. They offer the characteristic Glera profile: white peach, acacia blossom, and a clean, direct effervescence with moderate acidity.
The Sui Lieviti stands apart in method and character. It is 100% Glera from the single Piai Alto vineyard in Cison di Valmarino, fermented in bottle and aged on lees without disgorgement. Where the house's Brut is fine-bubbled and immediately clear, the Sui Lieviti is opaque and textured, with a creamy mousse and the quiet yeast-derived complexity that extended lees contact produces. It has received 91 points from Vinous, reflecting that this is a serious wine in a category not always taken seriously.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Prosecco Brut Nature Sui Lieviti Valdobbiadene DOCG is the bottle to start with. It is 100% Glera from the Piai Alto vineyard, fermented in bottle on lees and not disgorged, which means it arrives cloudy and alive in the glass with a soft mousse and more texture than any tank-method Prosecco on the same shelf. The acidity from the altitude vineyard keeps it from going flat or heavy, and the lees contact gives the wine a quiet savoury depth. It is a bottle that requires a gentle invert before serving and rewards the small amount of attention.