Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Feudo Rudini*. For Moscato di Siracusa, try:
Pupillo** (Solacium, late harvested and sweet,
and Pollio, less sweet), Fausto Consiglio*, Barone
Beneventano*, and Laganelli*. For Moscatello di
Castiglione, try
:
Angelucci***, Galassi**, Zac-
cagnini**, and Pasetti*. Moscatello di Saracena:
Cantine Viola**, Feudi di San Severino**.
and now a sparkling wine (Spumante Secco
Oppidum and Spumante Amabile Templum),
Terra delle Ginestre**, and Villa Gianna.
Moscato Giallo
where it's found:
Alto Adige, Trentino, FVG,
Veneto.
national registry code number:
154.
color:
white.
Moscato Giallo is also called by its German
name, Goldenmuskateller, in Alto Adige, and is
not to be confused with the Gelber Muskateller
of Germany and Austria, which is Moscato
Bianco. Less often, one hears it referred to as
Moscato Sirio or Moscato di Siria—it was once
thought to originate in the Near East. In reality,
there is no proof that Moscato Giallo hails from
Syria, and the fact that it has been proven to be
either a grandchild or half-sibling to four other
Moscato
s (Moscato di Scanzo, Moscato Rosa,
Moscato di Alessandria, and Moscato Violetto
or Muscat Rouge de Madèire) and one
Moscato
-
like variety (Aleatico), all of which originated in
Italy, makes its oriental origin very unlikely.
Furthermore, it is an offspring of Moscato
Bianco, most likely also an Italian native. For all
these reasons, while some experts still argue
about the possible Greek origins of Moscato
Bianco and Moscato di Alessandria, there are
no such doubts about Moscato Giallo, which is
considered a true Italian native.
Moscato Giallo is generally characterized by
rather large and elongated, pyramidal, sparse
bunches with one to two wings and round,
thick-skinned, bright-yellow berries. Appear-
ance and viticultural behavior depend on the
clone or biotype observed; there are seven offi -
cially certifi ed clones (R 1, VCR 5, VCR 102,
ISV-V-5, ISV-V-13, VCR 100, and CRSA-Puglia-
F 38). A vigorous variety, it's also a fairly early
ripener (harvest ranges from late August to
mid-September), it's very susceptible to
mill-
erandage
in rainy springs and to phomopsis, but
has good disease resistance overall. In fact, its
grey rot resistance differentiates it considerably
from Moscato Bianco. Moscato Giallo is very
sensitive to iron-defi cient soils (chlorosis is a
Moscato di Terracina
where it's found:
Lazio.
national registry
code number:
281.
color:
white.
Moscato di Terracina, previously thought to
be very similar to and related to Moscato
Bianco, though it actually resembles Moscato di
Alessandria more, is apparently genetically dis-
tinct from all the known
Moscato
s. The vine-
yards are located close to the Lazio seashore in
the province of Latina, about an hour south of
Rome. Hence the grapes are subjected to warm
winds, marine breezes, and plenty of salt in the
soil, but have adapted remarkably well over the
decades to what are fairly extreme living condi-
tions. Depending on the biotype, the grapes are
characterized by compact or loosely-packed but
always fairly large, pyramidal-conical bunches
and medium-large, round, yellow-green grapes.
It ripens early, in late August or early Septem-
ber. There are no offi cial clones available yet.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Both the variety and wine have been a remark-
able success story. In 2002 there was only one
producer of Moscato di Terracina wine; today
there are six producers and over one hundred
vine growers. The variety has always been
important for the local economy: in the 1820s,
cultivation of Moscato di Terracina was the
prime source of income for the area of Terra-
cina, and wines were regularly exported to
northern Italy and Germany. The wine can be
made in a variety of styles, including sparkling
(these have to be 100 percent monovarietal),
secco
(dry),
amabile
(off-dry), and
passito
(sweet).
wines to try:
Sant'Andrea*** (Oppidum
Secco, Templum Amabile, Capitolium Passito),
