Moscato d'Asti

Moscato d'Asti
Italian wine
Wine type	DOCG
Decree of institution	14/11/1977
Gazzetta Ufficiale	20/01/1978 nr. 20
Yield	1,000 t/km²
Maximum grape yield	75,0%
Alcohol by volume of grape (natural)	5,5%
Alcohol by volume of wine (minimum)	11,0%
Net dry extract (minimum)	15,0‰
Origin	Asti
Ingredient grapes	Moscato Bianco: 100.0%

Moscato d'Asti is a "Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita" sparkling white wine produced mainly in the province of Asti, north-west Italy, and in smaller nearby regions in the provinces of Alessandria and Cuneo. The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. Thus it is considered a dessert wine. It is from the Moscato bianco grape. A related wine, Asti, is produced in the same area from the same grape.

Grown in the hilltop town of Asti in Montferrat, Piedmont, Italy, Moscato d’Asti is made by small producers in small batches.^[1] Moscato is named such because of its earthy musk aroma. The ancient Romans called it the apiana. In the Medieval ages, its diffusion was great and the first certain documents that attest to its presence in Piedmont date as far back as the 14th century.^[2]

Piedmont winemakers traditionally make this low alcohol wine with Muscat à Petits Grains, also known as Moscato bianco. This petite berry varietal ripens early and produces a wide range of wine styles: light and dry, slightly sweet and sparkling or a rich, honey-like dessert wine.^[1]

History

Cultivated for hundreds of years in the Piedmont DOCG in Italy, Moscato bianco is considered one of the oldest grapes grown in that area. Although Moscato has been cultivated and made in the area, modern production of Moscato d’Asti as it is known now began in the 1870s. Made in the frizzante style, Moscato d'Asti was the wine that winemakers made for themselves. This low-alcohol wine could be drunk at noontime meals and would not slow down the winemaker or his workers. After the workday was done, the Piemontese tradition of long, multicourse evening meals gave Moscato d'Asti the purpose of a digestif that cleansed the palate and stimulated the palate for dessert.^[1]

Winemaking

A pink Moscato d'Asti made in the rosé style.

The cooler region in which Moscato bianco is grown and produced has the perfect blend of limestone and sandstone soils that give the provide hydration and flavors to the grapes. The grapes are harvested when the brix is optimal and then crushed. The must is chilled almost to the point of freezing to keep the fermentation process at a halt until the time is right. By law, Moscato D’Asti can only be 5.5% abv so the fermentation process is halted with a lot of the natural sugars still left in the wine. Unlike Champagne, there is no secondary fermentation allowed in the bottle. Right before bottling, the Moscato d’Asti goes through a filtration process that leaves the wine with a translucent golden color.^[3]

In popular culture

Since 2011, Moscato d’Asti sales have risen 73% and still rises around 10-15% per year in the US by consumers under the age of 45.^[4] Such rise has been attributed to the affordability of the wine (most range from $10–20) and the adoption of Moscato d’Asti as the drink of choice by hip-hop culture since champagne’s fall from grace.^[5]

Since Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of champagne house Louis Roederer’s, fatal mistake of stating “we can't forbid people from buying it”^[6] when he was asked if he thought hip-hop’s “bling culture” hurt the Cristal brand, champagne’s popularity as the drink of choice for hip-hop plummeted.^[7] Jay-Z began a boycott against the brand and the Moscato d’Asti craze took over.^[8]

References