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Moscato Canelli is a classic and highly regarded clone of high-quality Moscato Bianco (white muscat), originating from the Piedmont region in Italy. It is used to produce the globally famous, lightly sparkling Moscato d'Asti wines. It is an incredibly refreshing, low-alcohol, and pleasantly sweet wine, delighting with aromas of ripe peaches, orange blossoms, and sage.
Read moreThe commune of Canelli in Piedmont is considered the historical heart of this grape, so when seeking authenticity, it is worth choosing wines from this or surrounding regions.
Although both wines are made from the same Moscato Canelli grape, their styles differ. Asti DOCG (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a fully sparkling wine with slightly more alcohol and less residual sugar. Meanwhile, Moscato d'Asti DOCG is only lightly sparkling (Frizzante), very sweet, and has extremely low alcohol (around 5–5.5%). The latter retains the most fresh, primary grape aroma.
Due to its gentle sweetness and low alcohol content, Moscato Canelli is a perfect dessert wine. It pairs fantastically with light desserts: lemon tarts, panna cotta, fruit salads, and homemade ice cream. Furthermore, its sweetness and crisp acidity perfectly offset spicy Asian cuisine dishes (especially Thai or Sichuan).
The small-berried muscat (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) family is very broad, but over centuries, the Canelli clone adapted perfectly to the calcareous soils and cooler hilly climate of Piedmont. It is this terroir that allows the grapes to retain crisp acidity, which offsets the berries' natural sweetness, preventing the wine from becoming too "sticky" and cloying.
When making these wines, the juice fermentation in steel tanks is artificially halted (by drastically chilling and filtering the wine) when the alcohol level reaches just 5–5.5%. This preserves a massive amount of natural unfermented grape sugar in the wine, and the carbon dioxide trapped in the closed tank gives the drink a light, refreshing fizz.
