What Is Moscato Bianco?
Moscato Bianco is Italy's name for Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, one of the oldest and most aromatic white grapes in the world. In Piedmont it makes Moscato d'Asti and Asti: sweet, gently sparkling, low-alcohol wines that smell of peach, orange blossom and fresh grapes.
The Muscat family is very old and has spread around the Mediterranean since ancient times; Moscato Bianco is its finest, small-berried member. It has been grown in the hills of southern Piedmont since at least the sixteenth century, and the town of Canelli became the centre of Italian sparkling Moscato in the nineteenth century, when Carlo Gancia developed Italy's first sparkling wines there.
Where Moscato Bianco Grows
- Southern Piedmont: the hills around Canelli, Santo Stefano Belbo, Castiglione Tinella and other villages between Asti, Cuneo and Alessandria, on steep slopes of limestone marl and sand.
- Valle d'Aosta: around Chambave, for dry and dried-grape sweet wines.
- Elsewhere: small areas in Sicily (Noto), Puglia (Trani), Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna, often for sweet wines.
Moscato Bianco and Italian Denominations
- Moscato d'Asti DOCG: gently sparkling (frizzante), sweet, around 5% alcohol, sealed with an ordinary cork.
- Moscato d'Asti Canelli DOCG: from Canelli and nearby villages.
- Asti DOCG: fully sparkling (spumante), usually sweet and a little stronger; a dry Asti Secco has existed since 2017.
- Piemonte DOC: a wider label for Piedmont Moscato.
- Valle d'Aosta DOC: Chambave Moscato, dry or passito.
- Moscato di Trani DOC and Moscato di Sardegna DOC: southern sweet Moscato.
Flavor Profile and Tasting Notes
- Fruit: fresh grapes, white peach, apricot, pear and orange.
- Other notes: orange blossom, elderflower, sage, honey and musk.
- Structure: light body, sweet, fresh acidity, low alcohol and soft bubbles in the Asti wines.
Moscato d'Asti is best drunk young, within a year or two of the vintage, to keep its fresh fragrance. Dry Moscato is aromatic but crisp; passito wines from dried grapes are rich, with apricot jam and honey.
Food Pairing
- Desserts: fruit tarts, panettone, hazelnut cake and fresh fruit salads.
- Fruit: peaches, strawberries and melon.
- Brunch and aperitivo: pastries and light, slightly sweet dishes.
- Spicy food: the sweetness and low alcohol work well with mildly spicy Asian dishes.
- Dry Moscato: asparagus and aromatic vegetable dishes.
How to Choose and Where to Start
Start with a Moscato d'Asti from a small grower: it is light, fragrant and inexpensive, and best from the most recent vintage. Producers worth knowing include La Caudrina, Paolo Saracco, Ca' d' Gal, Elio Perrone, Valter Bera, La Spinetta, Braida, Ceretto and Vajra. For a fuller sparkling wine, choose an Asti DOCG.
Moscato Bianco grows near Brachetto, the red grape of sweet sparkling Brachetto d'Acqui, and is related to Moscato Giallo and Moscato Rosa. Read our best Italian dessert wines, the best Italian sparkling wines, the best Piedmont wines, or browse the grape varieties index.