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On Wednesday of this week, Italy’s National Wine Committee gave Prosecco DOC producers the green light to begin making Prosecco Rosé.

The wines will be made using a minimum of 85 percent Glera and 10-15 percent Pinot Noir vinified on its skins according to a post published yesterday on the Prosecco DOC Consortium website. A minimum of 60 days lees aging will be required after the second fermentation. Up to 17 grams residual sugar will be allowed. The grapes used for the wines, including the Pinot Noir, must be sourced from within the appellation.

Wineries won’t be allowed to release their Prosecco Rosé until January 1 of the year following harvest.

But some wineries are already planning to sell their Prosecco Rosé in Italy as early as September. At least one winemaker told me this morning that he expects his Prosecco Rosé to be available in the U.S. in October — in time for the holiday season.

This morning, I spoke to Giancarlo Moretti Polegato, owner of Prosecco producer Villa Sandi (for whom I do media consulting). He was among the first to lobby for the new category in 2009 when the DOC was created. At the time, none of his fellow winemakers wanted to add it, he told me. But today they are all eager to produce and sell it because of the growing interest in sparkling rosé across the world.

He also said that while he and other producers expected the approval of the new category earlier this year, it was held up because of the ongoing health crisis.

Restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen in Italy on May 18 and on June 3, the government plans to open up its borders again.

“We are confident that the crisis is now mostly behind us,” he said.

Click here for his notes published today on the Villa Sandi blog.