Giavi

Giavi, on the Monticella hill above Conegliano

He sold Italian wine to New Yorkers. Then he bought a hill above Conegliano. A century later, it makes some of the driest Prosecco you can pour.

Every great Prosecco story should start with someone who left. Francesco Giavi was born in Venas di Cadore, high in the Dolomites. He made his living in New York, importing Italian food and wine to people who missed home. Early in the 1900s he bought a farm on the Monticella hill, right on the edge of Conegliano, from the Tezza family. So the man who spent his life shipping Italy to America ended up owning a piece of the view.

The estate still carries his name. It is one block of vines on the slope above town, close enough to Conegliano that you could walk down for your afternoon spritz. We say that as people who believe the afternoon spritz is a civic duty.

At a glance

The story

Conegliano has always been the brainy end of Prosecco country. The town has Italy's oldest wine school, and the painter Cima da Conegliano put these hills into his altarpieces five centuries ago. Giavi borrows him for its label, using his Saint Helena, which now hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. That is a very good painting to have on a bottle, and a very Conegliano thing to do.

In 2015 the Moschetta family took over. They kept the name and kept it simple: Glera from their own hill, picked by hand in September. What they changed is patience. Most Prosecco rushes through its second fermentation in a few weeks. Giavi gives the DOCG Brut about three months and the Rive di Ogliano four or more. The bubbles come out finer and the wine comes out creamier, without tasting of toast or pretending to be Champagne. We like a Prosecco that knows exactly what it is.

What to drink

Rive di Ogliano Millesimato Brut Nature (DOCG). The reason to know this name. "Rive" means a single named hillside, here Ogliano, just north of town. With about 2.5 grams of sugar per litre, it is nearly bone dry: Prosecco for people who say they don't like Prosecco. The producer talks about layers and stone fruit. The UK importer lists it as vegan.

Millesimato Brut (DOCG). At 8 g/l it is dry without being severe. The producer describes green apple, pear and flowers, with a round, creamy feel from the long fermentation.

Millesimato Extra Dry (DOCG). At 14 g/l, and yes, Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut. Prosecco labelling is a love language with its own grammar. The producer describes apple, pear, white flowers and a little honey. This is the bar-stool aperitivo style, the one the region actually drinks at eleven in the morning.

Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato Brut. 90% Glera, 10% Pinot Noir, 9 g/l. Red berries and a soft finish, according to the producer.

Prices: Giavi publishes no prices and we have not yet found a current shelf price. Tell us if you see one.

Where it fits

The famous postcard Prosecco comes from the steep western hills around Valdobbiadene. Giavi sits at the other end of the denomination, on Conegliano's gentler slopes, where the wines tend to be softer and more aromatic. If Valdobbiadene is the runway, Conegliano is the café across the street, where the people who actually live here sit and drink.

Where to buy

• UK: imported by Alliance Wine, which supplies restaurants and independent shops. Ask your local merchant to order it in.
• US: carried by a few independent retailers. Call before you drive.

Quick answers

Is Giavi Prosecco DOC or DOCG? Both. The Brut, Extra Dry and Rive di Ogliano are Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. The Brut and Rosé labelled Prosecco DOC come from the wider Prosecco area.

What is the driest Giavi Prosecco? The Rive di Ogliano Brut Nature, at about 2.5 g/l of sugar.

Can you visit Giavi? Yes, by arrangement. Phone or email ahead. They publish no fixed tasting hours.

Sources

• giavi.it: history, Rive di Ogliano, contacts
• Alliance Wine: Giavi
• Harpers, 19 May 2016: "Alliance pushes the Prosecco ceiling with DOCG addition"

Last checked: October 2026

The Prosecco Desk: the Proseccotists behind Bella Principessa Prosecco. We love this region and write about the families who make it. Producers do not pay to be listed.