![]() This highly regarded producer makes a large range of wines from Piedmont’s indigenous grape varieties and is well-known for its single vineyard Barolos. Talk about a refreshing summertime drink! While there, I also discovered a great cocktail (see photo), made by pouring the wine over ice that had been muddled with fresh sage leaves and lemon slices. When I was visiting the Asti region (thank you Consorzio dell'Asti DOCG), a favorite pairing with Moscato d’Asti was crispy sage leaves atop grilled shrimp, which I now enjoy making at home. Additionally, the wine’s soft bubbles are easy on the palate and won’t aggressively overwhelm any subtle flavors of a dish. For the main course, the wine’s sweetness offsets the spiciness of typical summer dishes like grilled meats served with spicy relish or chili pepper-laced barbecue sauce.Īnd naturally, Moscato wines pair beautifully with desserts: fruit pies, creamy desserts, meringues, shuffles, berries and even chocolate. With delicate aromas and tastes that are reminiscent of peach, apricot, sage, lemon and orange blossom, the wine is great on its own served chilled, or with a variety of antipasti like melon with prosciutto, mortadella, blue or cheddar cheese and deep-fried vegetables. Moscato d'Asti is typically considered a dessert wine, yet its versatility makes it perfect for the entire meal since it’s lightly sweet and never cloying. But recently, as I was sipping on a glass of this tasty bubbly while on vacation in Lake Tahoe, I started thinking that Moscato d’Asti is a great choice during the dog days of summer as well. The Three Reasonsīack in December of 2016 I wrote an article on why Moscato d’Asti should be at your holiday dinner. People came from all over Piedmont to find out how he made his wine, so in 1606, he published a book called, “Of the Excellence and Diversity of Wines That Are Made on the Mountain of Turin and How to Make Them.” The book became a manual for the local Moscato d’Asti winemakers who wanted to make the best sparkling Moscatos. In his cellar, he perfected the techniques of making sweet, aromatic wines with low alcohol levels. A Milanese jeweler for royalty, he was also the owner of vineyards where he experimented with various vine-training systems. Then there was Giovan Battista Croce, regarded as the “father” of Moscato d’Asti. Savoy also stopped all other imports of vines to the area, a turning point in the history of Moscato and one that shows how important the grape was to the region. In the early 16th century the Prince of Savoy, who was enamored with Moscato wine, decreed that one-fifth of all vineyards plantings in the area had to be with Moscato Bianco and anyone planting less would be fined. The ancient Romans renamed it Apianae after the bees ( ape in Italian) which are attracted to the grape’s exquisite aromas of flowers, white peaches, apricot and sage. ![]() The history of Moscato d’Asti goes much further back than most people realize, dating to the time of the Greeks when it was cultivated under the name Antilico. You can actually smell the aroma out in the vineyards and then again in the glass! History Not to be confused with the region’s Asti Spumante, also made from Moscato Bianco (and now simply called Asti), Moscato D’Asti is slightly sweeter, more gently sparkling, lower in alcohol and usually of higher quality.įun fact about the Muscat grape : it's the only variety which produces wine with the same aroma as the grape itself. Along with the region’s famous red Nebbiolo wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, Moscato d’Asti is one of the most characteristic products of Piedmont winemaking and most of the top producers round out their portfolio with these wonderfully aromatic wines. Since 1993, the Moscato d’Asti wine appellation has fallen under Italy's highest category of production, DOCG. Today, there are eight officially recognized Moscatos in the Italian National Register of grape varieties, however there are over 200 Muscat varieties worldwide that are made into still, sparkling, sweet and fortified wines. Moscato Bianco (white Muscat), the grape from which it is produced, has been growing in the region for many centuries and is considered the variety from which all other moscatos evolved. ![]() Moscato d’Asti is a lightly sweet sparkling wine made in and around the town of Asti, in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.
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