Italy: Cielo e Terra - Dry Prosecco DOC, Blu Collection (BCorp, VIVA, Equalitas Certified, Vegan-Friendly)

Grape variety: 100% Glera. 11% alcohol. 

With a history dating back to 1908, Veneto-based Cielo e Terra (meaning Sky and Land, or Heaven and Earth) is a dynamic family company, headed up by Luca and Pierpaolo Cielo.

They produce easy-to-enjoy but good quality, sustainable and organic wines on a significant scale: this sort of scale not necessarily my bag it must be said - I prefer to champion the smallest of producers (as they more often than not produce the most interesting wine) - but their ethics continue to impress me, their wines are all of very sound quality for their entry-level prices, and their business model is admirably sustainable. 

They prefer to sell to independents, hotels and restaurants to maintain the long-term quality of what they produce, instead of chasing vast supermarket volumes where maintaining quality and sustainable pricing - and sleeping at night - is much more difficult. 

Their mission statement is “we create a fairer and more sustainable value chain, with a strong commitment to people and planet”.

The company contributes 5% of their profits to the Ekuò charity which invests in sustainability initiatives such as safe water projects in remoter areas of Africa. They attained B-Corp certification in 2020, and are VIVA and Equalitas certified (Italian ecological and supply chain sustainability programmes). They also became a Benefit Corporation in 2022.

These certifications combine the goal of profit with the purpose of creating a positive impact for society and the environment, operating in a responsible, sustainable and transparent manner. This is particularly urgent in the Prosecco region given the vast production levels and the risks involved with being a race to the bottom. 

This is an incredibly drinkable and refreshing fizz, with none of the overt sugary peach/pear drop or overly floral character, or jarring, prickly bubbles, that I and others rather tire of in a lot of Prosecco! I suspect the winemaker is the same, and thus aims for this style; it's bottled at a lower pressure than most equivalently-priced Prosecco and that the grapes are picked early at lower sugar levels, hence less sweetness and without the confected character, and better acidity. They do also control yields to achieve better quality fruit.   

Bright and zippy, with very gentle bubbles. 

What the experts say

92 points - Luca Maroni. A frankly quite astonishing review at this price level. 

Food pairing (recommendations from Cielo e Terra themselves): delivers flavour and lightness to many food pairings. Enjoy it at its best with veggie couscous, falafel, hummus with vegetables, grilled tofu, fish and chips, veggie tacos, shrimp and vegetable tempura, cheese and bacon turnovers, salmon tataki, radicchio and apple salad with parmesan chips, fried mozzarella sticks. Sounds like good party food...