The Delevingne Sisters Take Their Name Literally And Launch A Business Through The Grape Vine

The first iterations of the sparkling bubbly, Prosecco were sipped in the sixteenth century, then known locally as Ribolla in the northeastern city of Trieste. Historian Fulvio Colombo even wrote that the wife of Roman Emperor Augustus, Livia, imbibed the bubbly for what she believed were medicinal qualities.

The word “prosecco” entered our modern lexicon once Englishman Fynes Moryson wrote about the sparkling drink in his ‘Itinerary’, a multi-volume work that chronicled his travels in Europe and along the Mediterranean Basin. A valuable work for historians to decipher what life was really like, how people drank, ate, lived and lavished.

And now, the English Delevingne sisters, Cara, Poppy and Chloe, are launching their own Prosecco, Della Vite, capturing the untold story of Prosecco’s heritage, craft, and provenance.

“We had tasted some delicious Proseccos in Italy but felt that there was a general lack in quality in the Prosecco that made its way out of the country. In the UK, Prosecco is popular, but generally not thought of as a special or good quality wine and we wanted to change that,” says Delevingne.

The timing felt right to launch a Prosecco to the international market that met the well-traveled palates of the Delevingne sisters. “Prosecco is our drink of choice, a bit of a sisterly ritual if you will! It’s what we drink, and whenever we’re able to get together, Prosecco is there at the table too,” says Delevingne.

Valdobbiadene, is the hilly area in North-East Italy, around 30 miles from Venice where the Glera grapes for Prosecco thrive. It is here, for over three centuries, that farmers have grown the grapes that produce Prosecco Superiore. The very place that sparked such fervor for the sublime grape to found Italy’s first School of Winemaking in 1876. The area represents the beating heart of the Prosecco world; making it one of Italy’s historic denominations which became recognized in 1969.

In 2009, with the denominations for Prosecco being reorganized, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture classified it as a Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin (D.O.C.G.), the highest qualification level for Italian wines to protect the viticultural heritage of Prosecco and defend it as unique gastronomic patrimony around the world.

“Our Prosecco Superiore DOCG has aromas of citrus blossom and olive and is made exclusively from handpicked Glera grapes, grown at the very top of the valley of Valdobbiadene. Packed with a perfume of jasmine and lavender, while Della Vite Prosecco Treviso DOC is a versatile wine that we use for cocktail mixing. It’s also made using a unique combination of homemade, natural yeasts – it’s crisp and light palette gives it a complete, multi-layered taste.”

The Della Vite Prosecco translates in English to “of the vine” which is the same meaning as the Delevingne last name, in French which certainly inspired the business venture, it was in their name to do so.

In the creation of the wine, the Delevingne sisters wanted to not only create something delectable to sip, but to be founded in sustainable and ethical practice.

“Our winery is such a special place – they combine the technology with traditional Italian winemaking methods to develop beautiful wines, rooted in sustainability. Farming machinery isn’t used and the winery operates using solar-powered energy where they can,” says Delevingne.

The sisters also wanted to ensure that the product was vegan. Surprisingly, despite wine being made from grapes, some producers use animal-derived products known as ‘fining agents’ in the winemaking process that filter the grapes to remove protein, yeast, and cloudiness, and other organic particles. According to Peta, “Popular animal-derived fining agents used in the production of wine include blood and bone marrow, casein, chitin, egg albumen, fish oil, gelatin.”

The Delevingne sisters say that the protocol of their wine requires that “we use a ceramic system to filter, rather than using draining agents containing animal products, meaning the wines are 100% vegan. We wanted to create something inclusive, that as many people as possible could enjoy, which is why we made sure it was a vegan wine. Producing wine sustainability was also something that mattered, we spent a lot of time searching for a winery who not only made delicious Prosecco but who shared our values too,” says Delevingne.

Della Vite is fermented for 60 days, rather than 30 which results in what is classified as an extra dry Prosecco which leads to creamy bubbles.

Wine has the incredible alchemy of bringing people together, and in this case, it became a business venture for three sisters. “It’s been such an amazing experience seeing each other in work mode – and it’s so special that we can do this as sisters.”