It’s Getting Hot in Here, so Drink a Cold Glass of Moscato d’Asti

Word on the street is that Nelly is a wine connoisseur. Well, at least of one wine. Evidently what he likes to serve at his parties is Moscato d’Asti. While not sure if this gives him street cred or not, I know it would make him a hero in northern Italy, where this wine comes from. I also know that it shows good wine sense to serve this at his house parties, which (at least by the looks of the Nelly videos) are sweaty, crowded, overheated affairs. That’s what I’d want to drink. Frothing forth from the northern Italian region of Piedmont – home to the even-more-celebrated still red wines Barolo and Barbaresco – this effervescent, sweet, white wine twinkles on the tongue, massaging taste buds with bubbles and a dab of sweetness. Everything about this wine is gentle. The bubbles are not as severe and sharp as Champagne. Rather, they are gentle and elegant, what the Italians call “frizzante.” Moscato’s aromas are alluring and transporting, the type that you might find in good a candle shop: soft flowers, white peach, honeydew melon and perhaps a hint of orange zest. The sweetness is not cloying (in a good Moscato) but rather balanced by potent acidity such that neither tastes out of proportion. And, finally, there is the alcohol, usually at a merciful 5 percent or so (less than many beers), which is a good thing considering how easy this wine is to put away. Moscato d’Asti comes from the area around Asti (duh!), in a region from which on a good day you can see the Alps towering in the distance. You may recognize the name of the wine and the town from the more universal wine Asti Spumante, which literally just means “sparkling Asti.” Due to overbearing sweetness and a cheapness of character, these wines have earned a rather base reputation that has in turn sullied the entire category of Italian sparkling wine, which respectable sparklers like Prosecco, Franciacorta and Moscato d’Asti are working hard to revise. The hills in this area of the Piedmont are magnificent, shooting up suddenly and sharply, scaled by terrifically curving roads that wind around until they reach the summit. The first time I saw these hills, planted inexorably with millions of vines for miles and miles, I was shocked to learn that they were planted with Moscato. Every vineyard on these steep slopes must be worked and picked by hand; the labor is sure to be intensive. Usually such sites would be reserved for only the top grapes to make the best still wines, not a sparkling wine that I had long considered to be rather inconsequential. Imagining the work that must go into these treacherous vineyards gave me an idea how important Moscato is to Italians. It also gave me relief that these winemakers struggle like their vines do. This is because the winemaking process for Moscato d’Asti is short and, yes, sweet. The wine is simply placed in tanks and combined with yeasts. The tanks are kept very cold, which makes for a slow fermentation. When about half the sugar is fermented (less in some cases) the wine is simply filtered and bottled. It takes a couple of weeks and then the wine is ready to be sold. What do these vintners do for the rest of the year, I wondered, after making their piles of cash? It was a relief to see that the vineyards were obviously laborious enterprises. (We Americans are always suspicious of easy cash, aren’t we?) Moscato d’Asti is typically used as a dessert wine. In fact, during the summers, it is an ingredient in one of the favorite desserts of the Piemontese. The other ingredient, demonstrating typical Italian simplicity, is fresh fruit: peaches, apricots, blueberries, raspberries. The recipe is easy. Marinate the fruit in the wine for about 15 minutes and serve cold, either alone or with sorbet or ice cream. Moscato d’Asti also makes a good aperitif. Or just a good beverage anytime. Particularly in the summer – a time of popsicles, lemonade and cold beer – when the climate just seems to call for something cold, sweet or sparkling. Or all three together. When it’s getting hot in here, you may want to take off all your clothes. And while you’re lounging around in the nude, drink a cold glass of Moscato.