Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
problem), and performs best on calcareous or
volcanic slopes. It prefers generally cooler tem-
peratures: therefore its presence in Italy is lim-
ited to northern regions such as Trentino and
Alto Adige, with very small plantings in Friuli
Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Lombardy, and Emilia-
Romagna. At times, you will hear or read of a
Moscato Giallo grape or wine from Sicily, but
that is an incorrect use of the name, since the
variety planted there is Moscato Bianco. In
Veneto, there has always been a wine called
Moscato Fior d'Arancio, made, confusingly,
with Moscato Giallo, rather than the rare
Moscato variety Moscato Fior d'Arancio, which
is uncommon in Veneto (including that of the
Padova countryside, mistakenly believed by
many to be Moscato Fior d'Arancio, but it too is
Moscato Giallo). True Moscato Fior d'Arancio
(the Orange Muscat of California) is instead
sparsely cultivated in Trentino: according to
Crespan and Milani (2001), it is related to little-
known Moscato varieties such as Moscato Jesus
and Moscato Bianco Grosso. Though I imagine
vines of true Moscato Fior d'Arancio may be
found in the Colli Euganei, vineyards there are
planted almost exclusively to Moscato Giallo
and Moscato Bianco. The former is the Moscato
used to make the DOC wine Colli Euganei
Moscato Fior d'Arancio, while the latter is the
main player in Colli Euganei Moscato.
As Moscato Giallo prefers cooler environ-
ments, it is not surprising that this grapevine is
also found, albeit in limited numbers, in Swit-
zerland (where it is also called Muscat du Pays),
Austria, Germany, and Hungary. Determining
just how common Moscato Giallo grapevines
really are remains a diffi cult chore since the
variety is confused with Moscato Bianco grape-
vines everywhere.
are made. In contrast to Moscato Bianco wines,
those made with Moscato Giallo have aromas
that are more reminiscent of yellow fl owers and
of sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg). Orange
blossom is typical in moscato giallo too, but
overall the nose is more herbal and spicier and
has neither the penetrating grapey quality of
moscato bianco nor the fi ggy, date, and saline
quality of moscato di Alessandria. Moscato
giallo smells and tastes less of fresh grapes
than does moscato bianco and less of raisins
than does moscato di Alessandria. Further-
more, moscato giallo is usually even lower in
acidity, and therefore always seems sweeter
(even when dry) than moscato bianco. Last but
not least, Moscato Giallo wines are rarely made
as sparkling wines. The most important and
best monovarietal Moscato Giallo wines are the
DOC Trentino Moscato Giallo and the Alto
Adige Moscato Giallo (labels may read Golden-
muskateller). Moscato Giallo gives an amaz-
ingly wonderful dry wine that exudes almost
intoxicatingly intense fl oral and spicy aromas
and fl avors (grapefruit, mango, lychee, orange
blossom, broom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and white
pepper), the best examples of which you will
not easily forget. The very sweet late-harvest or
air-dried style labeled passito has thick honeyed
tropical fruit and sweet spice aromas and fl a-
vors. These wines are among Italy's best, thick
and voluptuously sweet, though they can at
times seem a little low in acidity, given the
extremely high residual sugars.
wines to try: For Alto Adige Passito, try:
Caldaro*** (Serenade Castel Giovanelli), Mer-
ano*** (Sissi Graf von Meran), and Nalles
Magré*** (Baronesse). For Alto Adige Moscato
Giallo, try: Manincor***, Burggrafl er** (Pri-
vat), and Castel Sallegg**. For Trentino's
Moscato Giallo, try: Riccardo Battistotti**,
Bolognani**, Gaierhof** (Dolce; this is a rather
sweet wine). For Veneto's Colli Euganei
Moscato Fior d'Arancio, try: Il Mottolo** (Pas-
sito Vigna del Pozzo), Conte Emo Capodilista**
(Passito Donna Daria), and Monte Fasolo**
(Passito Solone).
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Moscato Giallo wines are very different from
those made with the other white-berried Mosca-
to s. In fact, with a little practice, it is virtually
impossible to confuse them with any other
Moscato wines. Just as with the other members
of this large family, both dry and sweet wines
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