It’s Moscato day! Let’s celebrate a delightful wine from Italy

MMoscato is a grape and a wine type known all over the world. Few knows, anyway, there are different kinds of muscats, so, the Moscato family is very large.

Today is the National Moscato day! It is in fact a very popular grape variety in the United States that do not exists in Italy. Moscato has been defined the wine of America, a social mania, perhaps counting there more admirers than in its homeland. Without entering into the topic “is Moscato like Muscatel or Muscat?”, let’s focus on the fact that the National day is celebrating Moscato. Referring, therefore, to the Italian one.

Moscato families in Italy

There are mainly three families od Moscato: white (bianco), yellow (giallo) and Alexandria also called Zibibbo & the pink one. The origin of these vines is very ancient, dating back mainly to the maximum expansion of Magna Graecia. Over the millennia, the typologies have adapted to different territories, generating different biotypes.

Dry, sweet, or sparkling Moscato.

Thanks to their characteristics of acidity and sweetness, Moscato kinds lend themselves to various types of winemaking. So, they give life to sweet, sparkling wines, still or wavy, as well as dry wines. Certainly, the sugar content of Muscat makes them perfect to produce dessert wines.

The fascinating scent of Muscat.

Muscat is an intensely aromatic grape variety, producing particularly fragrant wines. Their primary aromas, connected to the grape, indeed, are already very intense. Other scents comes after fermentation and aging, for a more than complex and intense bouquet. Evident is hint of musk and medicinal herbs such as sage. In fact, the word muscat derives from the Latin muscum, which means, precisely, moss. Combined with ripe fruit, sometimes fig and apricot as in wild Moscatello or Moscato di Syracuse and Noto. Lavender sage and candied orange peel in Moscato di Terracina. Apricot and hazelnuts, along with musk and lavender in the Moscato Giallo of the Colli Euganei In passito you can often find hints of nougat, fruit in syrup, honey and dates. You can spend hours enjoying the scent of a glass of muscat ….

The most famous Italian moscato

Surely Moscato d’Asti is the most famous of Italian white muscats. But, strangely, in Italy it is often classified as a trivial wine. Cheap Moscato is commonly sold in bundle with average season pastries for a few euros. So, is generally less appreciated. Beyond the clichés, wine from muscat grapes is very good, it always depends on how and who produces it. In other words, on quality. Amazing when paired with puff pastries, custard cream as well as fried ciambelle or american donuts.

Moscato Bianco

In Piedmont, Moscato Bianco is one of the most widespread white grape varieties and gives life to the DOCG Moscato d’Asti and Canelli. It is the grape variety for Moscadello di Montalcino, in Tuscany. In Sicily for Moscato di Noto and Syracuse. In Puglia, the Moscatello Selvatico variety gives life to Moscato di Trani. A particular clone of white Moscato, which is grown only in Lazio is Moscato di Terracina, which is vinified dry, sweet, or sparkling wine. Interesting wines ranging from fruity to iodine notes, from honey to almond, excellent from appetizers to desserts.

Moscato Giallo

It is grown mainly in northern Italy, as in Trentino and Veneto. The wines produced in these regions are rich in flavor and, therefore, vitality. Never too alcoholic, they offer great pleasure thanks to the fruity nose of citrus and mixed with flowers and medicinal plants. With the yellow Moscato (for at least 95%), the wonderful Colli Euganei Fior d’Arancio is produced, with a straw yellow color, the aromatic scent. It produces still, sparkling and passito, also suitable for aging. It goes well with fruit-based desserts, cream millefeuille and dry pastries.

Moscato di Alessandria

This is Zibibbo, a name that indicates both the variety of Moscato (of Alessandria), and the wine that is produced with those grapes. It has very ancient origins, dating back to the Arab trade in the Mediterranean. As the word zibib itself attests, which means raisins in Arabic. Very famous that of Pantelleria, usually produced in a sweet version with withering on the plant. It gives us wines of great intensity and very long persistence, scented with dried fruit, orange peel, orange blossom and Mediterranean scrub. Exceptional with desserts but also with cheeses. Amazing meditation wines.

Il Moscato Rosa

It grows mainly in Trentino-Alto Adige but is also found in Sicily and Emilia. The name comes from the floral scent, although a certain concentration of color is present. It is also known as Rose Grapes. It is a rare and valuable wine because the plant is very delicate. The passito wine from Moscato Rosa, sometimes attacked by noble rot, has a bright red color with a scent of red and pink fruits. Very elegant and seductive.

Moscato di Scanzo

It is the only type of black berry Moscato typycal for thousands of years in the Bergamo area. Withered and vinified sweet, it gives rise to Moscato di Scanzo DOCG, a sweet red wine of great elegance. Scented with acacia honey and maraschino cherries, rose and sage. Great persistence to the taste.

How to match Muscat & food

In the sweet dessert version, it goes perfectly with leavened pastry desserts such as pandoro or panettone, or with mature cheeses, especially if blue. The sweet sparkling or wavy version goes perfectly with cream pastry. As well as the sbrisolona cake, ricotta cake. Unbeatable Moscato d’Asti with the zeppole of San Giuseppe. Moscato Rosa (Pink Muscat) is also successfully combined with Tiramisu. Dry, it goes well with appetizers, especially croutons butter and anchovies, seafood, fresh and medium-aged cheeses.

How to serve it

According to the kind of wine, serve it between 10-12 ° C.  A little colder when sparkling. The glass to choose is the one for passito for still desserts, from white wine for dry muscat, or the champagne glass for sparkling wine.

Remarkable Moscato bianco from Italy

• Paolo Saracco  – Moscato d’Asti
• Moscato d’Asti Canelli Sant’Ilario
• Crivella Mongioia   -Moscato d’Asti
• Moscato d’Asti La Morandina from Piedimont
• From Valle d’Aosta – Les Abeilles Les Crêtes
• Moscadello di Montalcino Vendemmia Tardiva La Poderina – Tuscany
• From Puglia – Moscato di Trani Dolce Rosalia
• Passtio di Noto Planeta from Sicily

Moscato Giallo to die for

• From Alto Adige Moscato Giallo Passito Vinalia Cantina Bolzano
• Colli Euganei Fior d’Arancio Passito Donna Daria  – Veneto
• Passito Le Moscatelle Villa Medici

Unique in the world

• Passito di Pantelleria Khamma Salvatore Murana from Sicily
• From Sicily Passito di Pantelleria Bukkuram Padre della Vigna
• Moscato di Terracina Passito Capitolum – Cantine Sant’Andrea from Lazio
• Moscato di Scanzo De Toma From Lombardy
• Trentino Moscato Rosa Maso Bergamini from Trentino Alto Adige