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Moscato/Muscat Wine with Game
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Thank you for visiting Moscato wine with food. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about how to use wine with food. If you have recipes to contribute, please do and we will give you credit if you wish. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll down to learn more.
How to Use Muscato Wine with Game
Moscato is a sweet dessert wine and should be served after a game dinner.
History and Charcateristics
The Moscato Bianco grape is an extremely ancient and its origins are not precisely known. It was not until the 17th century that refining methods of cultivating and vinifying this difficult variety were discovered. The cool, steep Langhe hillsides of Asti and Cuneo, near the town of Canelli, remain the principal center of production for Moscato d'Asti (hence, the alternate name, Moscato di Canelli). Calcium-rich, chalky soils produce the most fragrant Moscato Bianco grapes, and an excellent exposure is essential to bring the fruit to perfect maturity.
One type, Nivole comes from a single vineyard at Torre de Cantini in the commune of Canelli and situated on steep slopes of a gradient of approximately 35 degrees with an exposure facing south-southwest. Vines are planted to a density of 4,000 per hectare, with an average age of 25 years. The must is extracted and the temperature is immediately lowered to zero degrees centigrade (32 F) to prevent the onset of the alcoholic fermentation. It is kept like this until just before bottling when the temperature is allowed to rise to 18 degrees centigrade (65 F) and the top of the tank is opened.
At this point a slow fermentation begins that is stopped when the wine reaches an alcohol level of 5.5 percent. Residual sugar is adjusted to 11 percent by the addition of unfermented must. The wine is then fined, filtered and immediately bottled. This technique preserves the characteristically aromatic, sweet fruit fragrance of the grape unique to Moscato Bianco.
Moscato d'Asti is one of the most sublime and delicate of all dessert wines, which should be consumed at its freshest and most youthful. Its very low level of alcohol makes it particularly light and soft on the palate, and especially gentle for consumption after dinner, when wines of greater alcoholic content have typically been consumed beforehand. The name "Nivole," which means "clouds" in Piedmontese dialect, appropriately suggests the wine's airy, elegant quality. The fragrant, intensely fruity bouquet, offset by musky notes, leads to a refined sweetness supported by an excellent acid balance on the palate, with a suggestion of effervescence in the texture. The finish is clean and crisp, with a persistent flavor of grape and citrus characteristic of the variety.
