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Bottoms up: onslaught against prosecco falls flat among fans on its home turf

Some Italians fear the sparkling wine has become a victim of its own success
A racegoer swigs from a bottle of prosecco during Ladies’ Day at the Cheltenham festival. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

It’s aperitivo time in Treviso, a city in the heart of the Italian prosecco-making region of Veneto, and some of those gathered in the bars are still smarting over recent criticism of their esteemed sparkling wine.

“It’s not true that it’s bad for your teeth,” said Mariolina Ticcò, flashing a confident grin while swirling a glass of her favourite pre-dinner drink.

“It must have been a joke. I’ve grown up with prosecco, and have a glass every day, sometimes a little more, sometimes while cooking. It’s normal: everyone here drinks it.”

Warnings that the drink rots teeth and erodes gums due to its sugar and high acidity, thus , came from dentists in

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