Prosecco is one of the most popular drinks, but experts warned that the demand for this high quality Italian sparkling wine has meant an increase in counterfeits products. So what is so special about Prosecco? Prosecco is a controlled designation of origin in North east Italy, where sparkling wine, or semi-sparkling, is principally made from the Glera grape variety. Two quality assurance labels help protect the Prosecco region outside of Italy — DOC – Denominazione di Origine Controllata (controlled designation of origin) and DOCG – Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (controlled designation of origin guaranteed). Despite these labels, the Food Standards Agengy says they are seeing an increase in the number of knock-offs coming out of Eastern Europe. They’re being passed off as the real deal, but out of the 4,000 samples sent to laboratories for testing every year, around 1,000 are counterfeit. According to FSA wine inspector, Mark Dawson, a…