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Villa Gadia
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| Wine Name: | 'Ceirole' |
| Winery: | Villa Gadia |
| Varietal: | Sparkling Wine |
| Region: | Italy - Piemonte - Moscato D'Asti |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Price: | $16.95 (CDN) |
| Rating: | |
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| Wine Notes: | I read an amusing line in a cookbook recently. "What do you call a meal without wine?" The answer: "Breakfast." But there's no need to ban wine from the morning table. Not when there's moscato d'Asti, a product diehard wine drinkers jokingly call "the perfect breakfast wine." Moscato d'Asti must be one of the world's most misunderstood wines, mainly because it is regularly confused with Asti spumante, the popular sparkling wine of Italy. Moscato, which comes from the same region in the northwest part of the country called Piedmont, is much more distinguished and harder to come by. It's not sparkling but rather gently effervescent, a quality Italians call frizzante (fizzy). In fact, the bubbles are so gentle that the wine comes sealed with a regular cork, not the mushroom-shaped champagne top. Generally made in tiny batches by small producers, it's more individual than Asti spumante, which typically is produced in bulk and blended from widespread vineyards. Moscato also is lighter in alcohol, typically 5.5 per cent versus 7 to 10 per cent for Asti. That's why you could conceivably drink it with your Sunday pancakes. The flavour is extraordinary. Made from the moscato bianco grape, it delivers a wonderfully musky flavour, akin to fresh table grapes. There's always some residual sugar in the wine, enough to place it in the dessert category, and it's always served cold. Perfect with biscotti, it's especially captivating with fresh fruit, notably strawberries, another fact that no doubt helped give rise to the breakfast-bracer reputation. Because the light bubbles and zesty acid give it a clean lift, the Italians also enjoy this delicate white as an apéritif or light summer refresher. One wise critic once called it the ideal summer wine. There's a very good example being released today in Ontario Vintages stores. It's called Villa Giada Ceirole Moscato d'Asti 2001 ($16.95, product No. 705897). Made in a modern style with exceptionally low alcohol (4.5 per cent), it's captivatingly fragrant, with a delicious hint of peach. Don't put it in the cellar, though. These wines are best enjoyed at their height of freshness. (Source: Globe and Mail, Beppi Crosariol, May 10, 2003). Pale straw colour with aromas of lemon, lime blossom, muscat grape, tangerine, spice and peach. Medium in sweetness with a lovely palate refreshing spritz. Light to medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Food match: coffee-flavoured ice cream with fresh strawberries. Tasted in October 2002. (Source: Vintages, May 10, 2003). |
| Size: | 750ml |
| Drink After: | 2003 |
| Drink Before: | 2004 |
| UPC code: | 8028166001008 |
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