Story

Once Upon a Time in the Valley of Foxes

In a forgotten corner of northern Italy, where the Venetian coastal plain rises to form the first foothills of the Alps, lies the Valle delle Volpi or Valley of the Foxes.  Located in the exclusive superiore DOCG region of Asolo-Montello, where sumptuously pale grapes produce exceptionally delicate sparkling wines and, according to legend, where foxes gather to play in the pale moonlight among the vines since time immemorial.

It is here on a late summer’s afternoon in 2018 two English wine enthusiasts tasted for the first time what surely had to be the ultimate sparkling wine: all the floral notes and lightness of a great Prosecco with the minerality, structure and complexity of a fine champagne.  They were inspired to bring this wine to the world and named it Pale Fox in honour of its birth place.

Harry Cooke
Mark Hill
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Process

Crafting the World’s Finest Prosecco

The Terroir
The south-facing slopes of the Valle delle Volpi are the first hills inland from the coast.  This unique location creates the perfect micro-climate of sunshine, cooling breezes and gentle rainfall for growing Glera, the grapes used to make Prosecco.  These conditions combine gloriously with quick draining, mineral rich soil to produce grapes capable of creating an exceptional sparkling wine.

The Harvest
Quality over quantity - the yield of our vines is controlled so that each grape imparts the maximum amount of flavour.  Once fully mature, a second selection is carried out.  Only the best grapes are picked to become Pale Fox with the rest discarded for other wines. The grapes that make the grade are crushed and pressed within 24 hours of being picked and the juice is set aside to start the fermentation process.

The Fermentation
The next step in the Pale Fox vinification process is to ferment our delicate Glera grape must using indigenous yeasts.  Once a still white wine has been created we begin our signature extra-slow secondary fermentation process to create Pale Fox’s creamy sparkle.  Whilst most Proseccos will undergo 30 days of secondary fermentation we painstakingly extend this process to 90 days, resulting in an infinitely more complex flavour and finer, more persistent bubbles.

Values

Creating a Wine in Line With Our Principles

Quality
Pale Fox aims to elevate Prosecco to new levels of complexity and sophistication. This aim has been realised with James Suckling recently awarding Pale Fox 93 points, placing it as the best Prosecco in the World.

Sustainability
Enjoying great wine should be the ultimate celebration of nature. Part of this celebration is also a respect for its provenance, which is why we only use 100% renewable energy sources in the production of Pale Fox, from both solar and hydro-electric energy. Furthermore, we have partnered with Ecologi to plant a tree for every order placed and use CO2 neutral couriers to ensure our business is CO2 negative.

Vegan
Pale Fox is proud to be 100% plant-based. Counter-intuitively this is not true of a lot of wines available today, which are filtered using animal products, whether that be fish bones or egg whites. We use a natural clay called Bentonite instead and can assure you that no animal, or Fox, was harmed in the process of making our wine.

Low Sulphite
Sulphites are the nasty stabilizing compounds in wine that are known to be one of the main causes of a headache after a night of drinking. A small amount of sulphites are produced naturally in the wine-making process but we keep this to the absolute lowest levels to limit the effects the next morning.