Moscato d'Asti DOCG 2016

Valter Bera’s family have been growing grapes in the village of Neviglie for over a century, selling grapes to other firms for many years. Valter joined the winery in 1979 after graduating from the Enological School of Alba and began bottling Moscato, Brachetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo under the Bera name.

Neviglie is a small village of 400 people located just a few kilometers south of Barbaresco and is home to the Bera family. The family owns and farms 56 acres in Neviglie as well as vineyards in the nearby Asti and Barbaresco areas to produce a broad range of wines.

Valter Bera is among the very best of small-scale Moscato d’Asti producers and strives to return this historic wine to its small-winery roots. This means producing Moscato d’Asti on a smaller scale and working thoughtfully with the Martinotti method. Bera’s Moscato has fine aromatics thanks to calcareous soils and its sweetness is carefully balanced by acidity.

Tasting Notes

Moscato d’Asti is picked later than Asti and captures more of Moscato’s hedonistic fruit and floral aromas. The wine is slightly sparkling (frizzante), lower in alcohol, and has a bit more sweetness than Asti. However, its sugar is well balanced by acidity thanks to Valter’s careful work in the vineyard and cellar.

Food Pairing

With its gentle sweetness and low alcohol, few wines are as well suited for brunch as Asti and Moscato d’Asti. Moscato d’Asti is ideal with brioche, panettone, and french toast dusted with powdered sugar. Asti can also be served as an apertivo or be paired with spicy Asian cuisine or delicately sweet desserts.

Vineyard & Production Info

Production area/appellation:

Asti Spumante DOCG

Vineyard name:

The Asti/Neviglie vineyard

Vineyard size:

32 acres

Soil composition:

Calcareous and Clay-Loam

Training method:

Guyot

Elevation:

990-1,320 feet

Vines/acre:

2,000-2,400

Yield/acre:

3.6 tons

Exposure:

Southeastern / Southern / Southwestern

Year vineyard planted:

1991-2011

Harvest time:

September

First vintage of this wine:

1979

Bottles produced of this wine:

20,000

Winemaking & Aging

Varietal composition:

100% Moscato

Fermentation container:

Autoclave

Length of alcoholic fermentation:

15-20 days

Fermentation temperature:

45 °F

Maceration technique:

Punchdown (5%)

Type of aging container:

Stainless steel tanks

Length of bottle aging:

1 month

Analytical Data

Alcohol:

5.0 %

pH level:

3.1

Residual sugar:

130.0 g/L

Acidity:

6.2 g/L

Dry extract:

22.0 g/L