Tasting Moscato d’Asti, 2025 Releases

The temperature is going up, and with summer coming, we are approaching my favorite time of the year to pour Moscato d’Asti. If you aren’t familiar with this Italian style of wine, it is typically sweet, light bodied, low alcohol (5-6% abv), lightly fizzy, and fairly affordable. It pairs very well with desserts, but I personally love to drink it alongside spicy foods. The sweetness and effervescence help complement the heat, and I particularly enjoy drinking it with Szechuan dishes such as mapo tofu. When it gets hot outside, I’ll also bring Moscato d’Asti for poolside drinking, and I’ll even drop in an ice cube to slightly tame the sweetness and keep it cold. Today we are trying two solid examples of the style.

2023 Coppo Moncalvina Moscato d’Asti – On the nose and palate, this wine shows lovely fruit notes of lychee, peach, and pear. The effervescence is very fine, and coupled with the wine’s sweetness, it provides a silky, viscous mouthfeel. I found it to be a bit sweet to drink by itself, but when I tried it with spicy chicken teriyaki, the wine was very enjoyable. A- / $17

2023 I Vignaioli di S. Stefano Moscato d’Asti – Beautiful honeysuckle, peach, and melon appear on both the nose and palate of this Moscato d’Asti. It isn’t quite as sweet as the first we tried, but it certainly is not dry. The familiar fizziness of Moscato d’Asti is there, but it is lighter than the first wine, and I wished there were more bubbles. On a positive note, the flavors of this wine come together very nicely, and I would recommend sipping it after dinner either with, or in lieu, of dessert. A- / $18

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