Glera is a white grape variety from northeast Italy, intimately associated with the locally produced and now internationally popular sparkling wine, Prosecco.
Glera is most commonly made as a sparkling wine with the finest expressions typically showing pear, white peach and floral characteristics in a light, lively style. Sweeter styles – confusingly labelled either “Dry” or “Extra Dry” are not uncommon. Glera from the Prosecco sub-region of Cartizze is normally particularly rich and ripe-tasting. Many of the cheapest Glera Prosecco styles grown from high yielding vines on flat, fertile land taste rather neutral and lean and are rounded out with sweetness rather than fruit.
Glera is generally believed to have originated on the Carso/Karst hills, which run along the border between Italy and Slovenia. The variety’s unofficial synonym Prosecco comes from a village of that name close to Trieste.
Glera’s main adopted home is the hills of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene close to Treviso; however, the grape is found more widely across the Veneto and Friuli regions, as well as the Karst area of Slovenia, its original home. Further afield, Glera is found in Australia and, to a lesser extent, Argentina and Brazil.
Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy
Until 2009, Glera was more widely known by its historic synonym, Prosecco. However, Italian authorities successfully if controversially passed a law restricting use of the name Prosecco to wines made within a designated area of north-east Italy. Glera officially became the variety’s generic title, but many producers outside the EU continue to use the more commercially attractive Prosecco tag.
This grape variety is also known by the name of:
Beli Teran, Bresanka, Brichka Glera, Glere, Gljera, Ghera, Grappolo Spargolo, Briska Glera, Gargana, Posecco Tondo, Sciprina, Verdic, Verdic Beli, Prosecco, Prosecco Bianco, Prosecco Balbi, Prosecco Nostrano, Prosekar, Prosecco Tondo, Proseko, Uva Pissona, Serprina, Serprino, Steverjana, Verbic, Teran Bijeli
