Who doesn’t love anything fizzy, chilled and refreshing?
That trifecta is just one explanation for America’s growing love of Moscato d’Asti.
Home in Italy’s Piedmont region Moscato d’Asti is made from moscato bianco, a grape that’s hundreds of years older than the familiar cabernet sauvignon. When most consumers think of Moscato, they have a disappointing tendency to compare it to its sweeter, easy drinking fizzy cousin, Asti Spumante produced in the same region from the same grape.
Moscato d’Asti offers distinct aromas of lemon, pear, orange and honeysuckle. If the aromas were not refreshing enough the taste seals the deal with a tingle on your tongue from the half-sparkling style (frizzante in Italian) with high acidity and slight carbonation. Another reason to the love this wine is the surprisingly low alcohol level, around 5.5% alcohol by volume. (By comparison, an average bottle of white wine is 12% to 13% alcohol by volume.)
The secret behind this refreshing bottle is in the technique. Fermentation takes place in a stainless-steel tank making it ideal to preserve the natural carbonation. The fermentation is stopped at 5% to 5.5% ABV leaving enough residual sugar to create a pleasantly sweet wine. The process is quite different from other sparkling wines such as Champagne. Unlike Champagne there is not a “secondary fermentation” inside the bottle.
THE VALUE
- NV Mia Dolcea Moscato d’Asti, Italy (about $12 retail)
THE SPLURGE
- NV Saracco Moscato d’Asti, Italy (about $19 retail)