Prošek
Encyclopedia
Prošek is a sweet dessert wine
that is traditionally from the southern area of Dalmatia
, Croatia
. It is made using dried wine grapes in the passito method. Good quality Prošek is usually much more expensive by volume than other wines due to an average of seven times more grapes being needed to make the same amount of wine. While it can vary in the maximum amount, the alcohol level needed to be certified as a true dessert wine must be at least 15%.
The composition is typically of Bogdanuša
, Maraština, and/or Vugava (all native Croatian white grapes) with higher-end versions being a blend of the base white grapes and Plavac Mali
(a red Croatian grape).
due to the similar-sounding names but they are completely unrelated. Prosecco is a sparkling wine while Prošek is a sweet and they share no common grapes between them.
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
that is traditionally from the southern area of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. It is made using dried wine grapes in the passito method. Good quality Prošek is usually much more expensive by volume than other wines due to an average of seven times more grapes being needed to make the same amount of wine. While it can vary in the maximum amount, the alcohol level needed to be certified as a true dessert wine must be at least 15%.
The composition is typically of Bogdanuša
Bogdanuša
Bogdanuša is a white grape variety, which is grown on the Croatian island of Hvar, where it originated on the Stari Grad Plain. Wines from this grape tend to be dry with a green-yellow to golden color and from 12% alcohol on up....
, Maraština, and/or Vugava (all native Croatian white grapes) with higher-end versions being a blend of the base white grapes and Plavac Mali
Plavac Mali
Plavac Mali, a cross between ancestral Zinfandel and Dobričić grapes, is the primary red wine grape grown along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia...
(a red Croatian grape).
Confusion with other grapes
Prošek is often confused with Italian ProseccoProsecco
Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills...
due to the similar-sounding names but they are completely unrelated. Prosecco is a sparkling wine while Prošek is a sweet and they share no common grapes between them.