Our Prosecco Challenge (December 2025)
By John and Maureen Hogan
Prosecco Italy’s name actually comers from the Slovene dialect: “path cut through the woods”. The area was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019 because of its unique landscape of steep, terraced vineyards.
As most know, Prosecco is a white wine made from grapes of the same name. It is one of the most aromatic wines that you will ever try. Its’ taste and finish are crisp, clean, and refreshing. Many Prosecco wines produced today have vigorous bubbles. The lightly sparkling version is called frizzante and the fully sparkling version is called spumante. Both versions are affordable, extremely flavorful, very elegant, and crowd-pleasing drinks easy to adore.
The Challenge
Camino Della Colline del Prosecco di Coneglisno e Valdobbiadene is a 52 Kilometer journey through a unique territory of wonders, a step by step discovery of “gentle hills”, vineyards, farmhouses, lush woods, medieval churches and ancient routes. In short, (well, not so short at 52 klicks), it is a hike through landscapes of extraordinary beauty. But there is more: hikers get to retrace artifacts of history, in particular the numerous trenches, tunnels, and military outposts left from the Great War.
Our young daughter, Lauren, challenged us to complete 1/5th of the Camino – a 10 km “walk” through the area. The incentives included a rendezvous with our ‘elite worldly marathoners’ (Lauren – Shanghai; Tom – London; Carrie – Spain). Added encouragement came from “Prosecco tastings” along the hike, and a pasta feast when completed.
Lauren and Tom completed a 40 km ultra on day one…while John, Maureen & Carrie “trained” for the 10 km event the next day.
There may be no better way to celebrate a special event than with a glass of sparkling wine. All across the world people turn to sparkling wine in moments of great celebration. The French have Champagne, which is named after the region in which it is made. The Spanish have Cava, which is named after the natural caves in which the wine ferments. Often, we call wine that bubbles simply “Sparkling Wine”.
Italy’s version is Prosecco, known as “wine of sheer joyl”
Alla nostra 🥂
