🍷 Asti

Asti, or Asti Spumante, is an Italian aromatic sparkling DOCG wine from Piedmont, made from at least 97% Moscato Bianco. The grapes grow on the hills of 51 municipalities in the provinces of Asti, Cuneo and Alessandria. The same DOCG also covers the lightly sparkling Moscato d'Asti and has two subzones, Santa Vittoria d'Alba and Strevi. ¹

Moscato and its aroma. The rest may come only from other aromatic white varieties suitable for Piedmont. Moscato Bianco shows its aroma best on calcareous soils, and the limestone, clay or sandy plots of the area give different nuances of scent. Each year the region may set a profile of aromatic monoterpene alcohols for grapes and musts, such as linalool, nerol and geraniol. ¹

Hills, not valley floors. Only vineyards on sunny hillsides, preferably limestone or limestone-clay, qualify, while valley floors, flat land and damp soils are excluded. New plantings must have at least 4,000 vines per hectare, Guyot is the most common training, and any forcing is banned. Yields are capped at 10 t/ha, which the region may raise to 12 t/ha in good years, and the grapes need a natural potential strength of at least 9% (10% for metodo classico). ¹

The Martinotti method. Most Asti gets its bubbles from natural fermentation in a pressure tank, and together with finishing in the bottle this takes at least a month. Fermentation is steered by cooling to keep the balance between alcohol and residual sugar throughout the year. Asti may be made, sparkled and bottled only in the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo and in Pessione near Chieri. ¹ For quality aromatic sparkling wines, the EU allows fermentation to be controlled only by cold or other physical means and bans the addition of expedition liqueur. ⁵

Metodo classico. Asti metodo classico ferments in the bottle and stays on its lees without interruption for at least nine months in the same winery before the sediment is removed by disgorgement. It must have at least 12% total alcohol, acidity of at least 6 g/l and a sugar-free extract of at least 17 g/l, and its aroma is described as more pronounced. ¹

Asti in the glass. The mousse is fine and persistent, the colour from straw yellow to pale gold, the aroma characteristic and delicate, and the taste ranges from pas dosé to dolce. Actual alcohol is at least 6%, total strength including unfermented sugar at least 11.5%, and acidity at least 4.5 g/l. ¹ For the EU it is a «quality aromatic sparkling wine»: at least 3 bar of pressure, at least 6% actual and 10% total alcohol. ⁶

From Lausanne to pressure tanks. In the 18th century, articles on wine published in Lausanne singled out Piedmont's Moscato Bianco, and the Agricultural Society of Turin named Moscato one of the region's most promising grapes. At the end of the 19th century sparkling wine began to be made from it by refermenting in the bottle, and by 1895 tank fermentation had been perfected in Piedmont. The dry «Asti Champagne» of the early 1900s failed: fully fermented Moscato tasted bitter because of its terpenes, and adding sugar created too much pressure for the bottles of the time. Only research in the 1980s made successful less sweet versions possible. ²

Subzones and neighbours. The Santa Vittoria d'Alba subzone covers a single municipality, with yields of up to 9.5 t/ha and a higher minimum grape strength of 10.5%. Canelli became a designation in its own right in 2023, so in 2024 it was removed from Asti's subzones. ¹²⁴ In the EU register Asti is listed as a protected designation of origin. ³

Why it matters to you. On the label of sparkling Asti the vintage is not compulsory, and sweetness (from pas dosé to dolce) is shown on a separate line in a different font and smaller letters than the name. The words «superiore», «riserva» and «extra» are banned. The cork must be branded «Asti» or «Asti Spumante», and mainly plastic stoppers are banned for bottles over 200 ml. ¹²