Valdobbiadene dinner: in the heart of Prosecco Superiore DOCG, with M. Saccone

Forty-three hillsides are allowed to carry the Valdobbiadene DOCG name. Four of them grew the wine that will be on the table in Pirita on 27 August — and the man who knows those hillsides will be sitting in the same room.

On Thursday evening, Andreola's export director Magnus Saccone brings four Rive-level Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines from Valdobbiadene to Sardiinia Resto & Lounge. The three courses are built around them — not the other way round.

What "rive" means, and why it matters

In the hills of Valdobbiadene there are 43 slopes that may carry their own name on the bottle. They are called rive. Grapes for a Rive wine must be picked by hand, from one specific slope, and the vintage must appear on the label. The gradients reach 70 percent — no machine can work them. Looking after a single hectare takes up to a thousand hours of hand work a year.

Of all those slopes, Andreola bottles more Rive wines than anyone else in the region. Four of them have their own course on 27 August.

This is not the prosecco you find on a supermarket shelf. Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG comes from the hills of fifteen municipalities, where yields are capped by law; ordinary Prosecco DOC comes from the flat land of nine provinces, where the permitted yield is half as much again and the harvest is done by machine. The hills of the region have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2019.

The evening's menu

On arrival
Andreola "Akelum" — Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry

Amuse-bouche from the kitchen

First course
Tuna carpaccio
Andreola "Aldaina al Mas" — Rive di Guia, Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Extra Brut

Sorbet between courses

Second course
Pähkla Trout
Andreola "Col del Forno" — Rive di Refrontolo, Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Brut

Dessert
Pavlova
Andreola "Mas de Fer" — Rive di Soligo, Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Extra Dry

Petit four with coffee

Four wines, all Rive-level — wines from a single slope.

The evening

• 18:30 — doors open, welcome glass

• 19:00 — first course and an introduction from Magnus

• 19:45 — second course and the story of the Rive slopes

• 20:30 — two Rive wines side by side: taste the difference yourself, before it is explained

• 21:00 — dessert and forty years of Andreola

• 21:30 — open end, and menu cards signed for those who would like one

• 22:00 — the evening closes

Who this evening is for

For anyone who wants to know what separates two hills a kilometre apart. And for anyone who simply wants a Thursday evening at a table with a sea view, with nowhere else to be. Both get the same amount out of it.

Practical details

• Sardiinia Resto & Lounge, Masti 17, Pirita, Tallinn

• Free parking in front of the restaurant

• The evening runs from 18:30 to 22:00

• Seats are limited, so that Magnus reaches every table

• You can note dietary requirements and allergies when you buy your ticket

Questions: [email protected]