Asti Spumante
Encyclopedia
Asti is a sparkling white Italian wine
that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont
but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti
and Alba
. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation
. In fact, on an average vintage
more than ten times as much Asti is produced in Piedmont than the more well-known Piedmontese red wine Barolo
.
Made from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is sweet and low in alcohol, and often served with dessert. Unlike Champagne, Asti is not made sparkling through the use of secondary fermentation in the bottle but rather through a single tank fermentation utilizing the Charmat method. It retains its sweetness through a complex filtration process. Another wine called Moscato d'Asti
is made in the same region from the same grape, but is only slightly sparkling (frizzante) and tends to have even lower alcohol.
who studied the Champagne method used to produce the notable wine in the Champagne wine region of France. Producing his wine in the town of Canelli
along the river Belbo
, the wine grew in such popularity that Moscato Bianco developed the synonym
of Muscat Canelli that is still seen on wine labels today.
After World War II
, Asti saw an uptick in popularity in the United States as returning soldiers from the war brought their taste for the light, sweet wine home with them. The increasing demand saw many producers turn switch to bulk wine production using the Charmat method which makes the wine sparkling through a closed fermentation in a tank versus a secondary fermentation the individual bottle that the wine will be sold in. The large amounts of exported Asti (then known as Asti Spumante) that hit the export market (to both the United States as well as the United Kingdom) garnered a poor reputation for being, what wine expert Karen MacNeil
describes as, "a noxiously sweet poor man's Champagne."
Remnants of this reputation remained attached to the name Asti Spumante for much of the 20th century. When the wine was promoted to DOCG status in 1993, producers sought to distinguish itself from that reputation and dropped the use of Spumante all together in favor of the shorten Asti name. Along with the name change came a change in style with several producer creating a more modern style of Asti that are less sweet and have more ripe fruit flavors.
and partly within the provinces of Cuneo
and Alessandria
.
The area was first defined in 1932 as comprising the following 45 communes:
In Asti: Asti
, Bubbio
, Calamandrana
, Calosso
, Canelli
, Cassinasco
, Castagnole delle Lanze
, Castel Boglione
, Castel Rocchero
, Castelnuovo Belbo
, Cessole
, Coazzolo
, Costigliole d'Asti
, Fontanile
, Incisa Scapaccino
, Loazzolo
, Maranzana
, Moasca
, Mombaruzzo
, Monastero Bormida
, Montabone
, Nizza Monferrato
, Quaranti
, San Marzano Oliveto
, Sessame
and Vesime
.
In Cuneo: Camo
, Castiglione Tinella
, Cossano Belbo
, Mango
, Neive
, Neviglie
, Rocchetta Belbo
, Santo Stefano Belbo
, Treiso
and Trezzo Tinella
.
In Alessandria: Acqui Terme
, Alice Bel Colle
, Bistagno
, Cassine
, Castelletto Molina
, Grognardo
, Ricaldone
, Strevi
, Terzo
, and Visone
.
The province of Cuneo is more mountainous than the other provinces and has fewer vineyards that are concentrated closer to the Po Valley
. The Monferrato Hills that extend from the Po southward towards the Apennines covers much of the vineyard area in the Asti and Alessandria area with the name Monferrato sometimes appearing on bottles of Asti.
in Asti, Alba, Santa Vittoria d'Alba
and Serralunga d'Alba
in Cuneo.
Since 1976 production of the wine has additionally been permitted in the communes of: Castino
and Perletto
in Cuneo as well as San Giorgio Scarampi
in Asti.
Under Italian wine laws, all Asti DOCG wine must be 100% made from the Moscato Bianco grape with the grapes harvested to a yield
no greater than 10 tonnes/hectare
. The finished wine must be fermented to a minimum alcohol level that varies depending on the vintage
and is usually between 7-9.5%.
Asti get their fizziness from a single fermentation that takes place in stainless steel tanks (as oppose to a secondary fermentation taking place in a wine bottle
like Champagne). After the grapes are harvested the grapes are crushed and pressed with the must transferred to large tanks where the temperature is drop to just above freezing in order to prevent fermentation from beginning. The tanks are sealed and pressurized with the temperature raised to allow fermentation to begin.
Within the tanks the carbon dioxide
by-product of fermentation is trapped with the gas dissolving back into the wine and creating the ultimate source of the bubbles that are seen in a wine glass. Fermentation is allowed to continue until the wine has reached between 7-9% alcohol and between 3-5% residual sugar. The wine is chilled again to halt fermentation before it is sent to a centrifuge
that filters and remove all yeast
from the wine to prevent fermentation from resuming. The wine is then bottled and shipped.
Most Asti is not vintage-dated, however the large consumption and quick turn over of the wine usually means that the wines on the market are from the most recent vintage.
Master of Wine
Mary Ewing-Mulligan
notes that many of the flavors of Asti wine can be tasted in the ripe grapes of Moscato bianco. This is somewhat unusual in wine since many of the flavors of a finished wine come from phenolic compounds in the pulp and skin that develop in the wine through fermentation and maceration
of the skins. In describing a finished Asti wine, Ewing-Mulligan notes that the wines usually have very floral aromas with peach flavors and enough acidity to balance out the sweetness in the wine.
According to wine expert Karen MacNeil modern Asti wines have the characteristic "muskiness" of a Muscat based wine but are "not sugary sweet like candy but, rather, dizzyingly fruity and evocative of perfectly ripe peaches and apricots." The wines are typically served chilled and in a champagne flute style class.
Asti is often consumed very young and as close to the vintage as possible. After a two years, the wine rapidly loses the fresh, floral notes and becomes heavier and richer in body. While still drinkable, older Asti tends not to exhibit the typical light, fruity flavors that are usually associated with the wine.
Despite its sweetness, Asti has enough acidity to be versatile in food and wine pairings. While it is often drank as an aperitif
, it can be paired with salads, spicy Asian cuisine and even, as wine expert Oz Clarke
notes, with Christmas pudding
.
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont
Piemonte (wine)
Piemonte wine is the range of Italian wines made in the province of Piedmont in the northwestern corner of Italy.The best-known wines from the region include Barolo and Barbaresco. They are made from the Nebbiolo grape...
but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
and Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
. In fact, on an average vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
more than ten times as much Asti is produced in Piedmont than the more well-known Piedmontese red wine Barolo
Barolo
Barolo is a red Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and is often described as one of Italy's greatest wines...
.
Made from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is sweet and low in alcohol, and often served with dessert. Unlike Champagne, Asti is not made sparkling through the use of secondary fermentation in the bottle but rather through a single tank fermentation utilizing the Charmat method. It retains its sweetness through a complex filtration process. Another wine called Moscato d'Asti
Moscato d'Asti
Moscato d'Asti is a "Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita" sparkling white wine produced mainly in the province of Asti, north-west Italy, and in smaller nearby regions in the provinces of Alessandria and Cuneo. The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. ...
is made in the same region from the same grape, but is only slightly sparkling (frizzante) and tends to have even lower alcohol.
History
The Moscato Bianco grape (also known as Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) has long been found in the Piedmont and, along with Nebbiolo, may be one of the oldest grapes in the region. However, the production of sparkling Asti from Moscato Bianco is a relatively recent product. The first sparkling Asti is believed to have been produced around 1870 by Carlo GanciaCarlo Gancia
Carlo Gancia may refer to:*Carlo Gancia , founder of the Gancia wine-producing company*Carlo Vallarino Gancia, former co-owner of the Forti Formula One team...
who studied the Champagne method used to produce the notable wine in the Champagne wine region of France. Producing his wine in the town of Canelli
Canelli
Canelli is a comune of 10,440 inhabitants in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont....
along the river Belbo
Belbo
The Belbo is a river of southern Piedmont, Italy. It is a right-side tributary of the Tanaro.The Belbo rises in the Langhe, on the borders between Piedmont and Liguria in the hills of Montezemolo....
, the wine grew in such popularity that Moscato Bianco developed the synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
of Muscat Canelli that is still seen on wine labels today.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Asti saw an uptick in popularity in the United States as returning soldiers from the war brought their taste for the light, sweet wine home with them. The increasing demand saw many producers turn switch to bulk wine production using the Charmat method which makes the wine sparkling through a closed fermentation in a tank versus a secondary fermentation the individual bottle that the wine will be sold in. The large amounts of exported Asti (then known as Asti Spumante) that hit the export market (to both the United States as well as the United Kingdom) garnered a poor reputation for being, what wine expert Karen MacNeil
Karen MacNeil
Karen MacNeil is an American author, journalist, wine educator and consultant based in Napa Valley. MacNeil is also the creator and chairman of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in St...
describes as, "a noxiously sweet poor man's Champagne."
Remnants of this reputation remained attached to the name Asti Spumante for much of the 20th century. When the wine was promoted to DOCG status in 1993, producers sought to distinguish itself from that reputation and dropped the use of Spumante all together in favor of the shorten Asti name. Along with the name change came a change in style with several producer creating a more modern style of Asti that are less sweet and have more ripe fruit flavors.
Production zone
Asti is produced in the southeastern region of Piedmont where the large concentration of rolling hills provides ample space for vineyard plantings. The DOCG production zone is located mostly in the Province of AstiProvince of Asti
The Province of Asti is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Asti. To the north west it borders on the province of Turin; to the south west it borders on the province of Cuneo. To the east it borders on the province of Alessandria, while in the south it...
and partly within the provinces of Cuneo
Province of Cuneo
ayr is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ....
and Alessandria
Province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....
.
The area was first defined in 1932 as comprising the following 45 communes:
In Asti: Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
, Bubbio
Bubbio
Bubbio is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
, Calamandrana
Calamandrana
Calamandrana is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km southeast of Asti...
, Calosso
Calosso
Calosso is a rural comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km south of Asti in the hilly area between the Tanaro and Belbo and on the borders between Monferrato and Langa...
, Canelli
Canelli
Canelli is a comune of 10,440 inhabitants in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont....
, Cassinasco
Cassinasco
Cassinasco is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
, Castagnole delle Lanze
Castagnole delle Lanze
Castagnole delle Lanze is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 15 km south of Asti...
, Castel Boglione
Castel Boglione
Castel Boglione is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti....
, Castel Rocchero
Castel Rocchero
Castel Rocchero is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti....
, Castelnuovo Belbo
Castelnuovo Belbo
Castelnuovo Belbo is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km southeast of Asti....
, Cessole
Cessole
Cessole is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km south of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 429 and an area of 11.1 km²....
, Coazzolo
Coazzolo
Coazzolo is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km south of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 301 and an area of 4.1 km²....
, Costigliole d'Asti
Costigliole d'Asti
Costigliole d’Asti is a small Italian town in the Province of Asti, southern Piedmont. It lies about 13 km south of the city of Asti in the Alto Monferrato, on the edge of the Langhe, in the alluvial plain of the river Tanaro southwards into the hills....
, Fontanile
Fontanile
Fontanile is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
, Incisa Scapaccino
Incisa Scapaccino
Incisa Scapaccino is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 15 km southeast of Asti....
, Loazzolo
Loazzolo
Loazzolo is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont , located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km south of Asti....
, Maranzana
Maranzana
Maranzana is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 317 and an area of 4.5 km²....
, Moasca
Moasca
Moasca is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 15 km southeast of Asti...
, Mombaruzzo
Mombaruzzo
Mombaruzzo is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti....
, Monastero Bormida
Monastero Bormida
Monastero Bormida is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southeast of Asti....
, Montabone
Montabone
Montabone is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
, Nizza Monferrato
Nizza Monferrato
Nizza Monferrato is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km southeast of Asti....
, Quaranti
Quaranti
Quaranti is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti....
, San Marzano Oliveto
San Marzano Oliveto
San Marzano Oliveto is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 20 km southeast of Asti.-Geography:...
, Sessame
Sessame
Sessame is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southeast of Asti...
and Vesime
Vesime
Vesime is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km south of Asti...
.
In Cuneo: Camo
Camo
Camo is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 215 and an area of 3.6 km²....
, Castiglione Tinella
Castiglione Tinella
Castiglione Tinella is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo.-External links:*...
, Cossano Belbo
Cossano Belbo
Cossano Belbo is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo...
, Mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, Neive
Neive
Neive is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo...
, Neviglie
Neviglie
Neviglie is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 419 and an area of 8.1 km²....
, Rocchetta Belbo
Rocchetta Belbo
Rocchetta Belbo is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo....
, Santo Stefano Belbo
Santo Stefano Belbo
Santo Stefano Belbo is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo....
, Treiso
Treiso
Treiso is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 50 km northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 764 and an area of 9.5 km²....
and Trezzo Tinella
Trezzo Tinella
Trezzo Tinella is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 50 km northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 350 and an area of 10.4 km².The small and affable commune of Trezzo Tinella...
.
In Alessandria: Acqui Terme
Acqui Terme
Acqui Terme is a city and comune of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is c. 35 km SSW of Alessandria...
, Alice Bel Colle
Alice Bel Colle
Alice Bel Colle is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southwest of Alessandria....
, Bistagno
Bistagno
Bistagno is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 35 km southwest of Alessandria....
, Cassine
Cassine
Cassine is a town and commune of the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont. It is located 21 km southwest of the town of Alessandria on the left of the lower course of the Bormida in the Alto Monferrato Acquese. The town lies partly in the hills, where the ancient nucleus of...
, Castelletto Molina
Castelletto Molina
Castelletto Molina is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti....
, Grognardo
Grognardo
Grognardo is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km southeast of Turin and about 35 km southwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 315 and an area of 9.3 km².Grognardo borders the following...
, Ricaldone
Ricaldone
Ricaldone is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southwest of Alessandria...
, Strevi
Strevi
Strevi is a comune and small town in the province of Alessandria, Italy, located immediately north-east of Acqui Terme. It is one of the principle winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'Acqui....
, Terzo
Terzo (AL)
Terzo is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southwest of Alessandria....
, and Visone
Visone
Visone is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,178 and an area of 12.6 km².Visone borders the following...
.
The province of Cuneo is more mountainous than the other provinces and has fewer vineyards that are concentrated closer to the Po Valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
. The Monferrato Hills that extend from the Po southward towards the Apennines covers much of the vineyard area in the Asti and Alessandria area with the name Monferrato sometimes appearing on bottles of Asti.
Expansion
In 1967 the zone was extended to include the communes of Rocchetta PalafeaRocchetta Palafea
Rocchetta Palafea is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
in Asti, Alba, Santa Vittoria d'Alba
Santa Vittoria d'Alba
Santa Vittoria d'Alba is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km southeast of Turin and about 45 km northeast of Cuneo...
and Serralunga d'Alba
Serralunga d'Alba
Serralunga d'Alba is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 45 km northeast of Cuneo....
in Cuneo.
Since 1976 production of the wine has additionally been permitted in the communes of: Castino
Castino
Castino is a very important comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo. It is situated on a ridge between the Val Bormida and the Valle Belbo. Castino is one of the most famous cities in...
and Perletto
Perletto
Perletto is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo.-Geography:...
in Cuneo as well as San Giorgio Scarampi
San Giorgio Scarampi
San Giorgio Scarampi is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km south of Asti....
in Asti.
DOCG regulations and production
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...
no greater than 10 tonnes/hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
. The finished wine must be fermented to a minimum alcohol level that varies depending on the vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
and is usually between 7-9.5%.
Asti get their fizziness from a single fermentation that takes place in stainless steel tanks (as oppose to a secondary fermentation taking place in a wine bottle
Wine bottle
A wine bottle is a bottle used for holding wine, generally made of glass. Some wines are fermented in the bottle, others are bottled only after fermentation. They come in a large variety of sizes, several named for Biblical kings and other figures. The standard bottle contains 750 ml,...
like Champagne). After the grapes are harvested the grapes are crushed and pressed with the must transferred to large tanks where the temperature is drop to just above freezing in order to prevent fermentation from beginning. The tanks are sealed and pressurized with the temperature raised to allow fermentation to begin.
Within the tanks the carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
by-product of fermentation is trapped with the gas dissolving back into the wine and creating the ultimate source of the bubbles that are seen in a wine glass. Fermentation is allowed to continue until the wine has reached between 7-9% alcohol and between 3-5% residual sugar. The wine is chilled again to halt fermentation before it is sent to a centrifuge
Centrifuge
A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by an electric motor , that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis...
that filters and remove all yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
from the wine to prevent fermentation from resuming. The wine is then bottled and shipped.
Most Asti is not vintage-dated, however the large consumption and quick turn over of the wine usually means that the wines on the market are from the most recent vintage.
Wine styles
Master of Wine
Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom...
Mary Ewing-Mulligan
Mary Ewing-Mulligan
Mary Ewing-Mulligan is an American author, wine educator and Master of Wine, the first American woman to achieve this accreditation. She has been the director of the school International Wine Center since 1984, and is executive director of the U.S. programs for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust...
notes that many of the flavors of Asti wine can be tasted in the ripe grapes of Moscato bianco. This is somewhat unusual in wine since many of the flavors of a finished wine come from phenolic compounds in the pulp and skin that develop in the wine through fermentation and maceration
Maceration (wine)
Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...
of the skins. In describing a finished Asti wine, Ewing-Mulligan notes that the wines usually have very floral aromas with peach flavors and enough acidity to balance out the sweetness in the wine.
According to wine expert Karen MacNeil modern Asti wines have the characteristic "muskiness" of a Muscat based wine but are "not sugary sweet like candy but, rather, dizzyingly fruity and evocative of perfectly ripe peaches and apricots." The wines are typically served chilled and in a champagne flute style class.
Asti is often consumed very young and as close to the vintage as possible. After a two years, the wine rapidly loses the fresh, floral notes and becomes heavier and richer in body. While still drinkable, older Asti tends not to exhibit the typical light, fruity flavors that are usually associated with the wine.
Despite its sweetness, Asti has enough acidity to be versatile in food and wine pairings. While it is often drank as an aperitif
Aperitif
Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...
, it can be paired with salads, spicy Asian cuisine and even, as wine expert Oz Clarke
Oz Clarke
Robert "Oz" Clarke is a British wine writer, television presenter and broadcaster.-Biography:Clarke’s parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He was brought up near Canterbury with a brother and a sister. Clarke became a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and subsequently won a choral...
notes, with Christmas pudding
Christmas pudding
Christmas pudding is a pudding traditionally served on Christmas Day . It has its origins in medieval England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding or plum duff, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit.-Basics:Many households have their own recipe for...
.