feature of the original Prosecco, spread first in Gorizia, then – through Venice – in Dalmatia, Vicenza and Treviso. In 1754, the spelling Prosecco appears for the first time in the book Il Roccolo Ditirambo, written by Aureliano Acanti in Novoledo, in the municipality of Villaverla located in the Province of Vicenza. The wine was then known by the local Slovene-speaking population as Prosegker or Prosekar and was grown on the Adriatic coast near the villages of Contovello, Prosecco, Santa Croce and the former Roman villa town Barcola. The verses are: (in Italian), "And now I would like to wet my mouth with that Prosecco with its apple bouquet. From Monteberico this perfect favorite prosecco Our Priest give us. ... Mr Priest Jacopo Ghellini brother of Mr Pietro and Mr Marco. Those cavaliers from their estate on the Mount Berico (Monte Berico) collect the Prosecco, that has the most rare qualities, that a wine could have from any other place." Monte Berico is the hill of the city of Vicenza. The wine was defined by the grape used to make it, glera, and the brand was not protected. The village of Prosecco was about 150 km from the growing areas, and had never grown the glera grape. British importers started to be interested in importing the wine in quantity; in response the Italian minister of agriculture expanded the "denominazione di origine controllata" (DOC) to cover far-away Prosecco. This was followed by claiming UNESCO world heritage status for "Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene" a few years later. Prosecco was introduced into the mainstream US market in 2000 by Mionetto, now the largest US importer of Prosecco, who reported an "incredible growth trend" in 2008. According to a 2008 New York Times report, Prosecco rose sharply in popularity in markets outside Italy, with global sales growing by double-digit percentages since 1998, aided also by its comparatively low price. The UK became in the mid-2010s the biggest export market for Prosecco, consuming one quarter of all Italian production. Production expanded massively, to €500m sales in 2019. Until the 2008 vintage Prosecco was protected as a DOC within Italy, as Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Prosecco di Conegliano, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, and Prosecco di Colli Asolani. From 2009, these two area were promoted to DOCG status. To further protect the name, an association of traditional Prosecco growers advocated a protected designation of origin status for