We’ve got a lot to thank Italy for when it comes to food and drink. The 3 ‘P’s – pizza, pasta and Parmesan – are among Europe’s most celebrated dishes and products. In the past few decades, however, the UK fell in love with another ‘P’: Prosecco, the northern Italian sparkling wine that quickly knocked France’s Champagne off the top spot and became the calling card of celebrations and parties across the country.

Affordable, fresh, zesty and full of delicate little bubbles that always make popping the cork feel like an occasion, Prosecco is one of Italy’s most important wine exports, enjoyed across the world and often the go-to bottle whenever there’s something to celebrate. After it was introduced to the US and UK in 2000 by Mionetto its popularity exploded, and by the mid-2010s the UK was consuming a quarter of all the Prosecco Italy produces. It’s safe to say we fell head-over-heels for Prosecco as soon as it became available, so the news that Prosecco now comes in a pink rosé varietal too has had plenty of us reaching for our wine flutes.

But why hasn’t there been a rosé Prosecco before? It’s all down to how the Italian government and the Prosecco Consortium regulates and protects its country’s various wines. You’ll often see bottles of Italian wine with either DOC or DOCG on the labels, which were the names of regulations introduced in the 1960s and 1980s respectively. Think of DOC wines as ‘the best’ Italy has to offer, and DOCG wines as ‘the best of the best’, using grapes from the country’s most celebrated regions. You’ll also sometimes see IGT (or IGP) on Italian bottles, which allow a further relaxing of the rules and gives winemakers more freedom to use different types of grapes.

All these abbreviations and classifications can be confusing, but they’re important – they stop wine producers producing inferior wines and cashing in on a reputable varietal’s good name. When it comes to Prosecco, to be confident in selecting a great quality bottle you want to make sure it has either DOCG or DOC in the name – all of Mionetto's Proseccos are one of the two, so they're a good name to look out for. Both DOCG and DOC Prossecos are made in the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, using at least 85% Glera grapes (which were known as Prosecco grapes until they were renamed in 2009). However, top producers like Mionetto ensure the very best quality in their white Prosecco by using 100% Glera grapes. DOCG and DOC white Proseccos are almost always sparkling (either Spumante or Frizzante, which is slightly less fizzy). If you look hard enough, however, there is also a still version called Tranquillo, but it’s quite a rare find outside of the local area.