Sparkling wine Asti (Asti) – a guide in questions and answers

Right. Like other Italian sparkling wines that have previously participated in our analysis (Lambrusco, Prosecco), Asti wine has nothing to do with champagne, except, perhaps, bubbles in the glass. Asti is the name of a province, city, and sparkling wine, all of which can be found in Piedmont, northwestern Italy. Asti, formerly known as Asti Spumante, is a refreshing, slightly sweet, sparkling white wine made from Muscat white grapes (also known as Moscato bianco or Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains). It is full of bright floral-fruity aromas, and the taste is dominated by fully ripened apricot and peach, sometimes pear. Asti is an important component of the Piedmont region, where it is produced 5-6 times more than the more famous red wine Barolo in the world.

Region. Champagne can only be produced in the French province of Champagne. Asti is a sparkling wine from the southeastern part of the Italian region of Piedmont, the production zone of which is located mainly in the province of Asti of the same name and partly in the provinces of Cuneo and Alessandria.

Grape sort. For the production of champagne, only three grape varieties are used: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. For Asti, only Muscat is white.

Production method. Champagne is prepared according to the “classic champagne technology” (Metodo Classico, Méthode Champenoise), when the secondary fermentation of the wine takes place directly in the bottle. Asti wine is prepared according to a modified Metodo Charmat-Martinotti technology (Sharm method), when the wine is fermented only once in steel tanks and bottled ready-made (this technology is sometimes called the Asti method).

Sweetness. Champagne is always dry, but Asti is a semi-sweet wine that can have more than 5% residual sugar. This is due to the style of production, as a result of which the residual sugar is harmoniously combined with the light fruity taste of the wine.

Price. A bottle of entry-level champagne will cost you about $40 – the cost of complex production technology and a name. For a bottle of Asti, which is no longer entry-level, they will ask an average of 12-14 dollars.

A reasonable question, especially considering that it even deserves a separate name. Unlike the traditional Sharma metol, where wine is subjected to secondary fermentation in huge steel tanks, Asti is often fermented only once. After harvesting and pressing, the grape juice is sent to steel tanks, where it is cooled to 0^оC to prevent the start of fermentation. When the tanks are filled and hermetically sealed, the temperature of the juice is raised to 20^оWith the addition of yeast, the process of the first and only fermentation begins, during which carbon dioxide, as a by-product of fermentation, dissolves in the wine, making it sparkling.

Fermentation continues until the wine reaches the optimal levels: 7-9% alcohol and 3-5% residual sugar. At the same time, the pressure in sealed tanks reaches 5-6 bar. After that, it is cooled again to stop fermentation, and then sent to a centrifuge, where the drink is filtered and gets rid of yeast to prevent re-fermentation in bottles. Only after that Asti is bottled and sent to store shelves. Subsequently, this technology for the production of sparkling wines began to be called the “Asti method”. Some producers still use the classic champagne technology.

Asti wine is a fairly young drink. It is believed that it was first made in 1870 by the Italian winemaker Carlo Gancia, who studied Méthode Champenoise at the plant in Reims for a long time, and later founded a company with his brother in Canelli, where he experimented and, ultimately, developed the technology described above. By the way, at one time the wines of the Gancha brothers from Muscat grapes were in such demand that they even began to call the variety “Muscat Canelli” – the inscription on Muscat Canelli wine labels can be seen even today. After World War II, sparkling wine Asti Spumante (spumante – ital. “sparkling”), gained popularity in the United States and Great Britain. There it also earned a bad reputation as “poisonous sweet champagne for the poor.”

In an effort to get rid of the reputation of producers of penny wine, Piedmontese winemakers achieved in 1993 the elevation of Asti to the highest category of the DOCG classification of Italian wines. On the bottles with sparkling Asti DOCG, they stopped writing “spumante”, as if emphasizing the special position of this product over other local sparkling wines, for the identification of which the prefix “sparkling” is mandatory. At the same time, there was a change in the style of production of some of the main producers of Asti – the wine became less sweet and began to borrow more ripe fruit aromas from the fragrant Muscat.

According to the DOCG status, Asti can only be called wine that is made 100% from white Muscat grapes, harvested in an amount of no more than 10 tons / ha, and has a strength of 7-9,5%.

Muscat of Asti (Moscato d’Asti) is another white Muscat sparkling wine produced in the same region as Asti. It is less “sparkling” (so-called “frizzante”), less strong (usually about 5,5%) and, accordingly, contains more residual sugar. Wine d’Asti is bottled as a regular table wine with a standard cork, while Asti is bottled in champagne bottles. It is also prepared according to the “Asti method” and is classified as Moscato d’Asti DOCG. Otherwise, it is very similar to Asti sparkling wine, but less “sparkling” and with some features in the taste that will be difficult to distinguish to a person who is not familiar with these Italian wines. Moscato d’Asti is very popular in the USA.

First of all, make sure your Asti or d’Asti is cool enough, around 5-8 ^оC (which roughly corresponds to the temperature inside the refrigerator). Don’t be alarmed by too low a temperature – it softens the sweetness, bringing to the fore the floral and fruity aromas for which this category of wines is so prized. To serve Asti, the ideal option would be a flute glass (flute, tall champagne glass), which should be filled no more than three-quarters. Before serving, the glass should also be cooled. Try to buy Asti as young as possible, as close to vintage as possible. Such wines are not suitable for long-term storage – after a couple of years they completely lose their freshness, “fruitiness” and “florality”, become heavier and denser, lose their essence.

All Muscat wines are usually sweet, so it is ideal to combine them with products of a different taste spectrum – spicy, sour, salty, bitter. Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti go well with appetizers, sweet breakfast dishes, some desserts and, of course, are a great aperitif. Here are some successful culinary combinations with the muscat wines of the Asti region:

1. spicy food: Asti’s sweetness and low alcohol content (stronger drinks, on the contrary, tend to enhance the spiciness) suppress the pungency of overly spicy dishes from around the world. Serve a glass of Asti with Thai lab, Indian curry vindaloo, hot pepper chicken wings, or anything hot with Szechuan pepper.
2. Nuts and Seeds: the same salty-sweet aspect. Peanuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds will be a worthy accompaniment to a glass of Asti.
3. Crude: a dish with crispy vegetables such as celery, carrots, radishes and cucumbers will be a good addition to the delicate bubbles of Moscato d’Asti.
4. Soft or savory cheeses: soft, creamy brie or camembert brings out Asti’s bright fruity profile without overwhelming it. On the other hand, a powerful blue cheese needs an accompaniment like muscat wine to help overcome its saltiness. Make sure the cheese is at room temperature before serving.
5. Sweet breakfasts: Think pancakes or waffles topped with fruit puree or whipped cream. Such dishes emphasize the expressive fruity profile of Asti.
6. vanilla desserts: Asti’s sweet apricot-peach-pear aroma harmonizes with the creamy creamy touch of creme brulee, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or even rice pudding.
7. Dessert: an excellent match for Muscat wines. Look towards not-too-sweet and bright desserts, such as vanilla or sponge cakes, fruit pies, biscotti, and panettone.

Nothing special, just another mid-level Asti, but with a name and a huge piece of the market. There are better and more interesting Muscat sparkling wines, for example, Santero Villa Jolanda, Casa Vinicola Abbazia, Arione, Riccadonna, Gancia (it’s a sin not to taste Asti from the company whose founder invented it), Canti (Millesimato), etc. But what does not occupy Martini Asti is its popularity, thanks to which it can be bought in almost any supermarket in the world and, in general, this is quite a worthy specimen for a first acquaintance with Italian muscat sparkling wines. It is also not shameful to use it for making cocktails, which are wonderfully good on a warm spring evening or a hot summer day.

Wonderful discoveries for everyone!