Asti & Moscato d'Asti: The Delightful Lightness of Being

BY IAN D'AGATA | DECEMBER 27, 2018

Asti and Moscato d’Asti are two of Italy’s best-known and most delicious sparkling wines. Light in alcohol and strong on flavor, Asti and Moscato d’Asti are the ultimate party wines, but they can be remarkably nuanced and terroir-specific, too. At their best, the wines offer aromas and flavors of orange blossom, pear, peach, sage, vanilla and other sweet spices, and are an absolute joy to drink on their own, as aperitifs or with fruit and cream-based desserts.

Asti and Moscato d’Asti are both made in Piedmont, and while they undoubtedly share similarities, they are distinct wines and deserve to be appreciated for the their own merits. Both Asti (formerly known as Asti Spumante) and Moscato d’Asti are produced in 52 communes within Piedmont spanning an area roughly 9,700 hectares, by a whopping 3,700 different producers. There is slightly more Asti than Moscato d’Asti made: for example, of 85 million total bottles produced in 2016, 54 million were of Asti and 31 million were of Moscato d’Asti.

The Moscato Bianco vineyards at Castiglione Tinella in the heart of the Moscato d'Asti zone

Both wines are made with Moscato Bianco (the Muscat à Petit Grains or Muscat d’Alsace of France), a variety reportedly loved since ancient Roman times, and one that has always been extremely popular in Italy. In fact, it is the only grape variety planted in all of Italy’s 20 different regions. It follows that there are many wines made with Moscato Bianco all over Italy, some of which are quite famous, such as Tuscany’s Moscadello di Montalcino, Sicily’s Moscato di Noto, Puglia’s Moscato di Trani and Valle d’Aosta’s Chambave Muscat. Given the grape’s ubiquity and popularity in the Italian countryside, it is hardly surprising that distinct Moscato Bianco wines abound in Piedmont too – such as, for example, in Strevi and Loazzolo. However, in this specific neck of the Italian woods, and in Italy in general, Asti and Moscato d’Asti are by far the best-known Moscato wines of all.