Moscato Bianco

Moscato Bianco (also known as Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) is a white grape variety that has been cultivated around the globe for centuries. It is an important component in a number of Italian DOC wines and is used to make sparkling wines, sherry-style fortified wines, sweet dessert wines and even dry wines.

The Moscato Bianco grape has a greenish-gold hue and produces wines that are typically light and very aromatic in flavour, with floral, fruity and honeyed notes on the nose. On the palate, they are usually medium in alcohol and have a sweet floral taste with hints of apricot, peach and a lively acidity.

Moscato Bianco is widely grown in Italy, particularly in Piedmont, Veneto, Lombardy and Sicily. It is also grown in other parts of Europe, such as France, Germany, Greece and Austria, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and California. Moscato Bianco is a vigorous and productive variety that is relatively prone to diseases such as Oidium. The grapes are usually picked in August to ensure that the grapes reach full ripeness but retain acidity. In Piedmont, Moscato Bianco is used to make the classic Moscato d'Asti DOCG and Asti Spumante DOCG sparkling wines. In Styria in Austria, the wines are usually dry, fruity and mineralic. Moscato Bianco wines are best enjoyed as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to fruit-based desserts, such as apple tarts or peach cobbler. They also pair well with lighter cheeses, such as goat’s cheese or ricotta.

The island of Samos in Greece is renowned for their famous sweet wines made from this grape variety.

The mathematician "Pythagoras" himself, deriving from the Island of Samos, is said to have enjoyed many wines made from Moscsato Bianco.