Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
produced fi ve thousand bottles of the 1997 vin-
tage and so this wine, though not the easiest to
fi nd, continues to exist. As a general rule,
moscato di Siracusa is always less thick and
sweet than moscato di Noto, and this is true
even when comparing the
passito
versions of
both. Certainly, its aroma profi le is closer to a
lighter, fresher moscato than to moscato di
Noto.
In Sardinia, Moscato Bianco is used to make
three DOC wines: moscato di Sardegna,
moscato di Cagliari, and moscato di Sorso-Sen-
nori. The last of these, produced only in those
two townships, is made in a naturally sweet and
fortifi ed style called Liquoroso Dolce Naturale;
its production guidelines demand lower yields.
Moscato di Cagliari can be made only in Oris-
tano and Cagliari and exists in both a Liquor-
oso Naturale and a Liquoroso Naturale Riserva,
while the sparkling version
(spumante)
can be
made anywhere on the island. In Abruzzo, the
Moscatello di Castiglione subvariety gives hon-
eyed and lightly aromatic wines, with fl oral and
grapefruit aromas and fl avors. I fi nd there is a
hint of lavender on the fi nish, as well as an
intriguing saline tang; the wine has a viscous
mouthfeel but not the highest possible acidity.
There are many interesting Moscato Bianco
wines made outside Italy. In Australia, De Bor-
toli produce a slew of good Italian-like spar-
kling wines under different brand names such
as Emeri, in both white and pink versions. The
latter are called Pink Moscato wines and are not
made with the true Moscato Rosa but are rather
Moscato Bianco wines to which about three per-
cent Shiraz is thrown in for a little added color.
Of course, the most famous Australian Moscato
Bianco wines are those of Rutherglen and Glen-
rowan in northeast Victoria, such as those
made by Chambers Rosewood (an estate that
has garnered extremely high critical praise and
scores for its Rare and Grand Muscat wine
bottlings over the decades) and Morris. These
fortifi ed, extremely sweet wines are wood-aged
in often hot tin sheds and are really a must-try
for anyone in love with wine; but as great as
they are (and they are), they don't even vaguely
resemble wine made with Moscato Bianco in
Italy.
Of course, there are numerous fi ne exam-
ples of Moscato Bianco wines made in France,
many of which are fortifi ed, such as those
labeled Vin Doux Naturel: Muscat du Cap Corse
by Domaine Antoine Arena and the Muscat de
St. Jean de Minervois by Domaine de Montahuc
immediately come to mind but these are just a
few among a very impressive list of wines. The
best non-fortifi ed French examples are those of
Alsace, but beware that wines labeled Muscat in
Alsace are almost always a blend of Moscato
Bianco with Muscat Ottonel, a very popular,
intensely aromatic variety that isn't grown
much in Italy. Alsatian Muscat wines can be
anywhere from half to as much as 95 percent
blends of these two grapes, usually in favor of
the more popular, easier to grow Ottonel vari-
ety. In Greece, the island of Samos has histori-
cally been associated with very fi ne and much
sought-after Moscato Bianco production. The
Union of Winemaking Cooperative of Samos
makes a series of splendid wines, such as the
fortifi ed Samos Anthemis (also good: Samos
Nectar and Samos Grand Cru). Over on main-
land Greece, Moscato Bianco grows in Patras
and Cephalonia, most often planted higher up
and in north-exposed vineyards. Try the Mus-
cat de Rio Patras by Paraparoussis, made from
grapes grown on the northern coast of the Pelo-
ponnese, just east of Patras. This is not a forti-
fi ed wine, but made from air-dried grapes (at
least, the 2006 vintage I tried recently was so
made). In Austria, very good examples of Gel-
ber Muskateller wines are made by the
extremely talented folks at Wenzel or Heiss
Tschida.
Another non-fortifi ed Moscato Bianco wine,
and perhaps the most famous of all, is made in
South Africa: Vin de Constance by Klein Con-
stantia. A wine loved by Frederick the Great
and Bismarck, it was also mentioned regularly
in famous works of literature. In
The Mystery
of Edwin Drood,
Charles Dickens tells of “the
support embodied in a glass of Constantia
and a home-made biscuit,” and in
Sense and
