(Decanter) - Italy’s National Commission for UNESCO publicly backed the application for the area of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene – the home of Prosecco DOCG wines –  to join the world heritage list.

‘It is a recognition that we receive with pride,’ said Innocente Nardi, president of the Consortium of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.

‘This application adds new value to the beauty of this territory, which for centuries has expressed its potential in many fields; viticulture, first of all, but also wine innovation, art and architecture.’

The Prosecco UNESCO bid has been nearly 10 years in the making; the campaign to nominate Prosecco began in 2008, and in 2010 it was included in the Italian Tentative List.

To qualify for world heritage status, a site must qualify for one of 10 set criteria, and be of ‘outstanding universal value’, according to UNESCO.

Once nominated, advisory bodies evaluate the site in question, and a World Heritage Committee makes the final decision on who makes the list.