A Wine to Drink with Eggy Desserts: Vietti Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti

Wine of the Week: Vietti Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti
Region & Country: Piedmont, Italy
Price: $12

In keeping with Egg Week at The Kitchn, I can’t think of anything nicer to pair with an ‘eggy’ dessert such as creamy zabaglione than a refreshing glass of Moscato d’Asti.

I recently bought a half bottle (375 ml) of this 2010 Vietti Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti — perfect size for two to share and it was a match made in heaven. Have you ever tried this pairing?

Only slightly sparkling (frizzante is the official Italian term), the nose is captivating with its gentle floral aromas of summer roses and peonies. Delicious, the creamy mousse delicately tickles the palate. This Vietti Moscato d’Asti is wonderfully refreshing and bursting with bright, flavors of freshly picked apricots, peaches and nectarines and just a shade of spice. Definitely one of the best Moscato d’Asti wines that I have tasted this year.

At the table: With about 110 g/l residual sugar, Moscato d’Asti is a very sweet wine — so great with light fruit or egg based desserts. As I mentioned we enjoyed it with a cream zabaglione topped with fresh peach slices. It would also pair really well as a brunch wine with French toast or waffles.

About Moscato d’Asti and Vietti’s Cascinetta 2010 DOCG
Moscato d’Asti is a slightly sparkling wine (frizzante) made around the area of Asti in Italy’s Piedmont region. It is a DOCG quality wine. It is made from 100% Moscato Bianco (or Muscat Blanc á Petits Grains as it is called in France). The key to Moscato d’Asti quality is freshness. These are not wines to cellar long term but to enjoy when they are young and bursting with fresh stone fruit and floral aromas and flavors. Moscato d’Asti is wonderfully low in alcohol (circa 5-6% and very sweet (circa 100 g – 120 g/l residual sugar).

The Vietti family has been making wine in Piedmont for almost a century. In 1919 Mario Vietti produced the first wines bearing the Vietti label. Now in its third generation it is Mario’s grandson Luca and his family who run the estate and vineyards. The Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti is all estate fruit. The wine was fermented in autoclave (closed tank) to preserve the natural CO2 / bubbles and the fermentation was stopped when the wine reached about 5.5% abv, hence retaining so much sweetness.

Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW (Master of Wine), is a New York based wine educator, freelance writer and consultant.

Previous Wine of the Week: 2011 Mas De La Dame Rosé du Mas

(Image: via Amazon)