Toffoli

Traveling north from Venice, nearly twenty-five miles of plains pass before the road reaches the foothills that mark the beginning of the Italian Alps and the town of Conegliano. About fourteen miles due west of Conegliano sits the town of Valdobbiadene. Between the two towns, the land is mostly flat where the Soligo River joins the Piave. The Alpine foothills embrace this plain, curling around it to the north and forming the DOCG Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. Producers usually shorten this to either Prosecco di Conegliano or Valdobbiadene, depending on which town they are closer to. At the northern limit to the plain, just into the hills, sits the town of Refrontolo, a village of scarcely 2,000 people.

Refrontolo is a very close-knit community surrounded by vineyards and woods. Around Refrontolo, Gabriele Toffoli is a well-respected man. It is not just because he is a firefighter or because his brother is the mayor. It is mostly because, since 1964, the Toffoli family has been producing the finest wines in their neighborhood. It all began with Gabriele’s father Vincenzo, who was a gifted grafter of vines in the 1950’s. Times were tough though, and when he and his wife Maria received an offer to move to England to work as a private gardener, it was impossible to turn down. After twelve years, Gabriele returned to his hometown of Refrontolo with his family and bought five hectares of land.

Today, most of the activities of the winery fall to Gabriele’s but his two brothers Sante (the mayor) and Luciano also help in the vineyard. An additional five hectares are now leased from a neighbor due to demand for Toffoli Prosecco, which is soft, refreshing, and an utter joy to drink. Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene has finally gained well-deserved recognition as something much more than an alternative to Champagne. Perhaps the most important difference between the two is that not all Prosecco is sparkling.

It can be fermo (still), frizzante (slightly effervescent), or spumante (which only means sparkling in Italian, and has nothing to do with sweetness). Prosecco is also mono-varietal, while Champagne is usually made from a blend of grapes. Last, but certainly not least, Prosecco undergoes the bulk-Charmat process, which is faster than the Méthode Champenoise, in which the wine undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle. The Charmat process is preferred for Prosecco specifically because it is faster, enabling the wine to reach the buyer with all its wonderful freshness.