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Glera is the grape behind Prosecco, which makes it one of the most-drunk grapes on the planet and one of the least-known by name. Until 2009 the grape itself was called Prosecco. Then Italy decided Prosecco should be a protected place name, renamed the grape Glera, and everyone carried on ordering Prosecco anyway.
So here is the deal: Glera is the fruit, Prosecco is the fizz. Light, fresh, pear-scented and cheerful, it is the sparkling wine that turned brunch into an institution and made Aperol Spritz a global religion.
Table of Contents
What Does Glera Taste Like?
Green apple, pear, white peach and honeysuckle, with a soft, frothy bubble and a clean finish. It is lighter and fruitier than Champagne, with less of the bready, yeasty character, because it gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in a big steel tank rather than in the bottle. Most Prosecco is “Brut” or “Extra Dry”, which confusingly means a touch of sweetness is normal.
| Aspect | Rating out of 5 | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | 🍷🍷 | Usually off-dry, a little sugar to balance the fizz |
| Body | 🍷 | Feather-light, a bubble on a breeze |
| Tannins | – | None; it is all froth and fruit |
| Acidity | 🍷🍷🍷🍷 | Fresh and lively, the reason it wakes up a brunch |
| Alcohol by Volume | 🍷🍷 | Gentle, usually 11–11.5% |
Each wine glass icon is one point on a 5-point scale: one glass is low, five is high, based on the grape’s typical style.
Where It Grows
The Veneto and Friuli in north-east Italy. The big Prosecco DOC zone covers the plains, while the steep hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene make the DOCG wines, the ones worth paying a little extra for. The hills are so steep that harvest is done by hand, and in 2019 UNESCO listed them as a World Heritage site.
Australia has a Prosecco story of its own, and a slightly cheeky one. The King Valley in Victoria planted Glera in the late 1990s, thanks to the Italian-Australian Dal Zotto family, and Australian producers still label their wines “Prosecco” because the grape was registered here under that name before Italy changed the rules. Italy is not thrilled. Australian drinkers are.
How to Serve It
Temperature: 6–8°C. Properly cold. Warm Prosecco is a sad, flat thing.
Glass: a white wine glass or a tulip beats a narrow flute for aroma; the glasses roundup has choices.
Decanting: absolutely not. You would be decanting the bubbles straight out of it.
Ageing: none. Buy the freshest bottle you can find and drink it within a year. Glera is about youth and fizz, not cellar patience.
What to Eat With It
Brunch, canapés, prosciutto and melon, bruschetta, light seafood, sushi, and salty snacks of every kind. It is also a brilliant partner for fish and chips, where the bubbles cut the batter. And of course an Aperol Spritz, which is technically a food group in Italy. More ideas in the pairing guides.
Celebrated Wine Labels
| Wine Label | Country | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Bisol | Italy | Valdobbiadene family, classic and refined |
| Nino Franco | Italy | Benchmark DOCG, elegant and dry |
| Innocent Bystander | Australia | King Valley Prosecco with a modern twist |
| Ruggeri | Italy | Consistent, well-priced Valdobbiadene |
| Graham Beck | South Africa | Cap Classique sparkling, a bubbly neighbour worth knowing |
Drink One Tonight
Brown Brothers Prosecco
The friendliest bottle of Australian Prosecco on the shelf. Pop it, chill it, add a splash of Aperol if you must.
- Real Glera, grown in the King Valley where Australian Prosecco began
- Fresh, pear-scented and reliably good, from a family winery since 1889
- Perfect for brunch, spritzes and salty snacks
- Around twenty dollars, so keep two in the fridge
- Off-dry style; if you want bone-dry fizz, look for a Brut Nature
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some interesting facts about Glera?
The grape was called Prosecco until 2009, when Italy renamed it Glera so that “Prosecco” could become a protected regional name. Prosecco now outsells Champagne by volume worldwide. And Australia can still legally call its wine Prosecco because the grape was registered here under that name first.
Is Glera a red or white wine?
White. Glera is a green-skinned grape and makes white sparkling wine. Pink Prosecco, approved in 2020, gets its colour from a splash of Pinot Noir, not from Glera itself.
Where does the name Glera originate from?
Glera was an old local name for the grape in the Trieste area near the Slovenian border, and the village of Prosecco sits just outside Trieste. When Italy needed a new grape name, it dusted this one off.
What is Glera similar to?
In taste, it sits somewhere between a light Pinot Grigio and a soft Riesling, with bubbles. Among sparkling wines, Cava and Crémant are drier and yeastier; Moscato is sweeter and grapier. Our Pinot Grigio guide covers the nearest still wine.
Which country produces the most Glera?
Italy, by a mile: more than 600 million bottles of Prosecco a year. Australia is a distant second and growing, with the King Valley as the heartland, followed by small plantings in Brazil, Argentina and Slovenia.
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