Description

Moscato is the traditional way to cleanse the palate after a meal before getting stuck into the Grappa. I was a hint sceptical at first, but after tasting it I have seen the light. This is a really lovely, fresh, vibrant slightly fizzy drink that is so refreshing. There was great balance between the grapey, floral notes, the light sweetness and the soft fizz. Contextually it was perfect and really easy drinking.

Owned by the Manfredi family. These wines represent the best of Piedmont. Combining traditional knowledge with modern practices, they craft remarkably good wines.

Moscato

Better known as Muscat, this is one of the oldest varieties in the world. Used to make Moscato d’Asti & Asti (Spumante) to name but a few.

Piedmont

Known as one of the greatest wine regions in the world, its name literally means the ‘foot of the mountain’. Piedmont located in the North-Western reach of Italy. There are a lot of parallels drawn between the best wines of Piedmont (Barolo and Barbaresco) and the wines of Burgundy. The region neighbours France and Switzerland with its border defined by the Alps to the north and west and Apennines to the south. These natural defences kept the Ligurians safe from Roman invasions. Luckily it didn’t work forever, as we may not have the wines that we cherish today.

The climate is continental with long cold winters and hot and fairly wet summers. The foggy hills give name to the most famous local variety Nebbiolo with Nebbie meaning first fog. The best soils are not suited to farming other than viticulture, they tend to be thin with large amounts of clay, marl and calcareous matter.

Piedmont is Italy’s most prolific sources of high-quality wines, producing more than three million hectolitres, about half of which is DOC or DOCG quality.