Advent calendars are usually reserved for children and filled with stale, waxy chocolates. And geared toward children. And ridiculously expensive.
But what about an advent calendar with WINE? That’s what I’m bringing you this December. I plan to try some new wines myself, and to also resurrect some old tasting notes for 25 pre-Christmas posts.
And the first wine up is…..Moscato d’Asti. Moscato d’Asti is a light, and pleasantly sweet dessert wine. A sparkling wine from northern Italy, it couldn’t be further from the style of syrupy, bland, bottom-shelf Moscato most college girls prefer. I discovered this one early on in my wine-tasting adventures, and I’ve loved it since. With such a trend toward sweeter styles, I’m always shocked this one isn’t more popular.
Ironically, the area of Italy Moscato d’Asti hails from is most well-known for producing robust reds – but I will discuss those later. The wine is produced in a relatively small region with Moscato grapes planted near the town of Asti.
As far as characteristics go, Moscato d’Asti is first and foremost floral or perfumed. It has an extremely aromatic nose full of candied peach, fresh lychee, honey, and citrus. The wine’s aromatics stem from how it’s produced – a process distinct from many other sparkling wines. First, grapes are destemmed and crushed lightly to avoid the introduction of bitter stem tannins and preserve those fruity aromas. The juice is then filtered and fermented. Unlike Cava or Asti, though, some of the carbon dioxide that results from fermentation is allowed to escape fermentation tanks, resulting in a light effervescence and less noticeable bubbles than you may be used to seeing in a sparkling wine. In the Italian scheme of classifying sparkle levels, this is a frizzante, meaning it has at least one atmosphere of pressure in the bottle. Compare this to Champagne, which is usually around 5 atmospheres. When the wine reaches around 5% alcohol, it’s chilled to kill the yeasts. The final wine has a light spritz, low alcohol content and a bouquet of fresh fruit on the nose.
Moscato d’Asti can be a crowd pleaser. It pairs well with fruit tarts, lightly sweetened nut pastries, and that relative who seems to always get awkwardly sloshed at holiday gatherings. Substitute this low-alcohol libation for them and you’ll at least be able to delay the onset of this holiday woe. For anyone new to wine or who may be intimidated buying foreign wines, Moscato d’Asti can be a stepping stone. Here’s the best part – it’s usually cheap and easy to find! Moscato d’Asti can be found at most grocers with a large wine selection (such as Meijer) and runs about $12.
But what about an advent calendar with WINE? That’s what I’m bringing you this December. I plan to try some new wines myself, and to also resurrect some old tasting notes for 25 pre-Christmas posts.
And the first wine up is…..Moscato d’Asti. Moscato d’Asti is a light, and pleasantly sweet dessert wine. A sparkling wine from northern Italy, it couldn’t be further from the style of syrupy, bland, bottom-shelf Moscato most college girls prefer. I discovered this one early on in my wine-tasting adventures, and I’ve loved it since. With such a trend toward sweeter styles, I’m always shocked this one isn’t more popular.
Ironically, the area of Italy Moscato d’Asti hails from is most well-known for producing robust reds – but I will discuss those later. The wine is produced in a relatively small region with Moscato grapes planted near the town of Asti.
As far as characteristics go, Moscato d’Asti is first and foremost floral or perfumed. It has an extremely aromatic nose full of candied peach, fresh lychee, honey, and citrus. The wine’s aromatics stem from how it’s produced – a process distinct from many other sparkling wines. First, grapes are destemmed and crushed lightly to avoid the introduction of bitter stem tannins and preserve those fruity aromas. The juice is then filtered and fermented. Unlike Cava or Asti, though, some of the carbon dioxide that results from fermentation is allowed to escape fermentation tanks, resulting in a light effervescence and less noticeable bubbles than you may be used to seeing in a sparkling wine. In the Italian scheme of classifying sparkle levels, this is a frizzante, meaning it has at least one atmosphere of pressure in the bottle. Compare this to Champagne, which is usually around 5 atmospheres. When the wine reaches around 5% alcohol, it’s chilled to kill the yeasts. The final wine has a light spritz, low alcohol content and a bouquet of fresh fruit on the nose.
Moscato d’Asti can be a crowd pleaser. It pairs well with fruit tarts, lightly sweetened nut pastries, and that relative who seems to always get awkwardly sloshed at holiday gatherings. Substitute this low-alcohol libation for them and you’ll at least be able to delay the onset of this holiday woe. For anyone new to wine or who may be intimidated buying foreign wines, Moscato d’Asti can be a stepping stone. Here’s the best part – it’s usually cheap and easy to find! Moscato d’Asti can be found at most grocers with a large wine selection (such as Meijer) and runs about $12.
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