Drink Moscato d’Asti (with Lindt White Chocolate balls) before you die!
Why? Well, because it might just be the best wine and food pairing bar none.
Ten Second Summary
- What it is: Moscato d’Asti is a sweet, low-alcohol, lightly sparkling wine from Piedmont in northern Italy, made from the Moscato Bianco grape.
- Tastes like: Fresh grapes, peach, apricot, orange blossom, flowers, and a clean, delicate sweetness.
- Buying shortcut: Start with the originals from Piedmont — or go straight to the 6 best Moscato producers ↓
- Best with: Lindt white chocolate balls. Dead set. It is also brilliant with pancakes, bacon, fruit, maple syrup, light desserts, and spicy food.
- When to drink: Drink it young, fresh, cold, and with reckless enthusiasm. This is not a wine to hide in the cellar.
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| Lindt white chocolate balls: possibly the perfect Moscato d’Asti pairing. Find them from amazon.com or your local chocolate supplier. |
What's on this page
1. What is Moscato wine?
Moscato is not an expensive wine. It’s not a complex wine. It doesn’t have a reputation for being drunk by royal courts, generals, or red-carpet celebs. But it is a delicious wine.
Moscato d’Asti is a sweet, lightly sparkling, low-alcohol wine from the Asti region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It is made from an ancient small berried grape variety that the French call Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains but the Italians call Moscato Bianco. The variety is famous for its exuberant perfume, fresh grape flavour, and immediate, joyful appeal.
Low in alcohol, sweet, and fizzy, Moscato d’Asti is a great anytime-of-day wine — particularly at breakfast with pancakes, bacon, fruit, and maple syrup. Or, for dessert, I’ve never found anyone who hasn’t 100% loved drinking Moscato while eating Lindt white chocolate balls.
If you haven’t had this combo before, stop whatever it is you’re doing right now (it can wait), secure provisions of both, and try it. Seriously, you can’t waste another moment. You could get hit by a bus tomorrow!
2. Why Moscato d’Asti is bucket list worthy
The funny thing about Moscato d’Asti is that it can be easy to dismiss. It is inexpensive. It is sweet. It is low alcohol. It is simple in the best possible sense. But that is exactly why it deserves a place on your wine bucket list.
Moscato d’Asti is pure pleasure. It doesn’t demand deep contemplation, decanting, a leather-bound tasting journal, or a bank manager’s approval. It just makes people happy. Fresh, fizzy, grapey, sweet, aromatic, and delicious — sometimes that is more than enough.
And, unlike many modern low-alcohol wines, Moscato d’Asti is not a laboratory construction designed to satisfy a trend. This is a traditional wine style with deep roots in Piedmont, made from naturally aromatic grapes, with its sweetness and low alcohol preserved by stopping fermentation before all the grape sugar is converted into alcohol.
It is freshness, delicacy, simplicity, and broad, immediate appeal in a glass. In that sense, Moscato d’Asti sits in glorious contrast to Piedmont’s other iconic but more revered wine: Barolo.
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| Vietti Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti: one of the best Moscato producers to start with. Image © vietti.com |
3. A brief history of Moscato d’Asti
Moscato d’Asti is the original. It comes from the Asti region of Piedmont in northern Italy. Moscato d'Asti literally translates as Moscato from Asti. And, while Australia, California, and others all make great examples of Moscato in a similar style — often with a little more alcohol — it is always best to give the originals a try.
Moscato has been grown in Piedmont since at least the 13th century. Moscato d’Asti is believed to have evolved from the sweet, frizzante, low-alcohol wines winery workers made for themselves to drink at the midday meal without becoming sluggish afterwards. It also went well with traditional Piedmontese evening meals, which are long, multi-course events, acting as a digestif that cleansed the palate and stimulated it for dessert.
According to Karen MacNeil’s The Wine Bible, the first Asti is attributed to Carlo Gancia, who introduced sparkling wine to the region around 1870. The real breakthrough came in 1898, when Federico Martinotti developed the tank method for making sparkling wines. This allowed more Moscato d’Asti to be made more cheaply and quickly than ever before. Thanks, Federico!
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| Moscato d’Asti vineyards in Piedmont, northern Italy — the home of the original sweet, low-alcohol, lightly sparkling Moscato. Image © Valentina / stock.adobe.com |
4. Moscato with Lindt white chocolate balls
North American singer, songwriter, and actor Trey Songz and his Canadian rapper mate Drake may like it with lobster and shrimp, which is also very delicious, in their song I Invented Sex. But, dead set, Moscato with Lindt white chocolate balls is when the music really starts.
Why does it work so well? Moscato d’Asti has sweetness, freshness, bubbles, and intense grapey perfume. Lindt white chocolate balls bring creamy sweetness, vanilla, cocoa butter, and that meltingly soft centre. Put them together and the wine lifts the chocolate, the chocolate rounds the wine, and everybody wins.
The key is to serve the Moscato properly chilled. You don’t want it warm and blowsy. You want it cold, fresh, and fizzy enough to cut through the white chocolate’s richness. This is not a pairing for snobs. This is a pairing for people who like being happy.
5. What does Moscato d’Asti taste like?
Moscato d’Asti is an incredibly fresh, aromatic, and perfumed wine, marked by floral, peach, apricot, fresh grape, and orange blossom notes. Its freshness, delicacy, simplicity, and broad, immediate appeal are precisely the point.
Most Moscato d’Asti is gently fizzy rather than fully sparkling. It is sweet but, when good, not cloying. The best examples have enough acidity and freshness to keep everything lively. They should feel light, fragrant, and joyful rather than sticky or heavy.
Moscato d’Asti is also famously low in alcohol — often around 5–6% ABV — which makes it one of the great low-alcohol wines of the world. That is part of the appeal. You can drink a glass with breakfast, brunch, dessert, or a sunny afternoon without feeling as though you have been tackled by a Barossa Shiraz.
6. 6 best Moscato producers and bottles to try
Here are 6 of the best Moscato producers to try if you want the real thing: fresh, sweet, lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont. Click the Wine-Searcher links below to find a bottle near you.
1) Vietti — Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti
Vietti is one of Piedmont’s great names, best known by serious wine people for its Barolo and Barbera, but its Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti is also a little gem. It is bright, floral, grapey, and beautifully balanced. If you want a reliable first bottle of proper Moscato d’Asti, this is a very sensible place to start.
Find Vietti Cascinetta Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
2) Paolo Saracco — Moscato d’Asti
Paolo Saracco is one of the benchmark names for Moscato d’Asti. This is Moscato with precision, freshness, and proper lift — sweet, yes, but not dull. It has all the easy charm you want from Moscato, but with enough detail to remind you that simple pleasure and quality are not enemies.
Find Paolo Saracco Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
3) La Spinetta — Bricco Quaglia Moscato d’Asti
La Spinetta’s Bricco Quaglia is one of the classic “serious but still delicious” Moscato d’Asti bottles. It is fragrant, lively, and beautifully made, with the kind of peachy, floral perfume that makes Moscato so ridiculously enjoyable. This is the sort of wine that can convert sceptics.
Find La Spinetta Bricco Quaglia Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
4) Elio Perrone — Sourgal Moscato d’Asti
Elio Perrone’s Sourgal is another superb example of why Moscato d’Asti should not be dismissed as cheap, sweet fizz. It is fresh, aromatic, and full of orchard fruit charm. It has that lovely Moscato trick of being both playful and precise at the same time.
Find Elio Perrone Sourgal Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
5) Michele Chiarlo — Nivole Moscato d’Asti
Michele Chiarlo’s Nivole is widely available, dependable, and exactly the kind of bottle that proves Moscato d’Asti doesn’t need to be complicated to be worthwhile. Expect flowers, citrus, peach, and fresh grape sweetness in a light, gently sparkling package. Chill it, pour it, and don’t overthink it.
Find Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
6) G.D. Vajra — Moscato d’Asti
G.D. Vajra is another brilliant Piedmont producer whose Moscato d’Asti is well worth seeking out. Their version is delicate, perfumed, and fresh, with the sort of purity that makes you wonder why you don’t drink Moscato more often. Which, of course, you should.
Find G.D. Vajra Moscato d’Asti on Wine-Searcher
7. Quick FAQ
What kind of wine is Moscato?
Moscato is usually a sweet, aromatic white wine made from Muscat grapes. The best-known style is Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont, Italy: low in alcohol, lightly sparkling, sweet, floral, grapey, and fresh.
What is Moscato wine made from?
Moscato d’Asti is made from Moscato Bianco, one of the world’s ancient and most aromatic grape varieties. It naturally gives wines intense floral, peach, apricot, and fresh grape aromas.
What alcohol is in Moscato?
Moscato d’Asti is usually low in alcohol, often around 5–6% ABV. Some Moscato-style wines from other regions can be higher, often closer to 8–9% ABV.
Which is better, Prosecco or Moscato?
It depends what you want. Prosecco is usually drier, crisper, and more aperitif-like. Moscato is sweeter, lower in alcohol, more aromatic, and better with fruit, brunch, light desserts, and — obviously — Lindt white chocolate balls.
Is Moscato a beginner’s wine?
Yes, Moscato is a great beginner’s wine because it is sweet, low in alcohol, aromatic, and easy to enjoy. But that doesn’t mean it is only for beginners. Good Moscato d’Asti is one of life’s simple, delicious pleasures.
Which wine is closest to Moscato?
If you like Moscato, try Brachetto d’Acqui, demi-sec sparkling wine, sweet Riesling, or some lightly sparkling sweet wines from Australia and California. But for the classic experience, start with proper Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont.
Why is Moscato so cheap?
Moscato is usually affordable because it is made to be drunk young, does not require long barrel ageing, and is often produced using tank fermentation. Cheap does not mean bad. With Moscato d’Asti, affordability is part of the charm.
What’s the best tasting Moscato?
The best tasting Moscato is usually fresh, lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti from a good Piedmont producer. Start with Vietti, Paolo Saracco, La Spinetta, Elio Perrone, Michele Chiarlo, or G.D. Vajra.
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