Glera (Prosecco)

Glera is one of Italy's most popular white wine grape variety, best known for its starring role in Prosecco sparkling wine. Glera is a light-skinned grape, with a greenish-yellow colour. Its aromas and taste profile is rather neutral and the variety is thought to originate from Istria.

Glera is mainly grown in the Veneto region of Italy and is a key component in the production of Prosecco. To some extent it is also found in Slovenia, Argentina and Australia. Glera is a relatively high-yielding grape, and needs to be kept in check by pruning and canopy management. It prefers well-drained soils and is best suited to sites with good exposure to sunlight. In the winery, Glera is usually fermented at rather cool temperatures and can be produced in sparkling or semi-sparkling styles. There are also some examples of dry still wines. In the Veneto, Glera is usually used to make sparkling wines, the so-called Prosecco. The best examples come from the province of Treviso between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano Glera wines make excellent accompaniments to light starters and seafood dishes. They also pair well with cheese or solo as an aperitif.

Prosecco is more popular than Champagne.

In 2021 more than 600 million bottles of Prosecco were produced, more than double the amount of Champagne.