6 bottiglie di Passito Di Moscato Ultimo Grappolo, Ghiga

PASSITO DI MOSCATO ULTIMO GRAPPOLO

Taste notes

The Passito di Moscato (Raisin wine) can be paired in many ways, with anything from cheese to pastries. Thanks to its liqueur consistency, “Ultimo Grappolo” can also be served as a sweet liqueur drink with low alcohol content. It is excellent for matching with desserts of all kinds and biscuits; goes well with cheese, too, if they it’s not too strong. This raisin wine can also be used for preparing tasty fruit salads, cakes and “tiramisù”. “Ultimo Grappolo” is a wine for meditation and thought. It’s a great companion for reflecting. It can be drunk alone while contemplating but also along with joyful company, for example at the end of a meal as a digestive. It should be served preferably at a temperature of 10° C

Historical Notes

“Ultimo Grappolo” is an aromatic white raisin wine of moderate alcohol content and excellent structure. It represents the sweet version of Moscato wine, which is an important Piedmont vine quality that is also used for the famous Moscato d ‘Asti and Asti Spumante D.O.C.G. wines. The method of drying grapes to increase the alcohol content probably comes from the island of Pantelleria, native land of the most popular raisin wine in the world. How this technique reached the Piedmont region is unknown. The only certainty is that in the past, during years with particularly bad weather, the Piedmont wine-makers’ custom was to leave the clusters attached to the vines until they began to wilt; the withering process serves to concentrate the sugars and all the other substances, thus creating a considerable increase in the quality of the product. Later the wine-makers noticed that, using this technique, they could obtain a very sweet and colorful liqueur-tasting wine, with a pleasant flavor of raisins. This is how the production of Moscato raisin wine began and over the years it has grown to the point where there is now an origin denomination called the Piedmont Moscato raisin wine. The production of sweet wine in Piedmont is now quite limited because the processing is lengthy and requires meticulous care, furthermore not all vintages are ideal, which is why many manufacturers have chosen not to produce this type of wine. However, in the Moscato area, the process of drying grapes has been perfected and continued by some growers, strongwilled men, who manage to obtain excellent products from these aromatic grapes. Products which attain recognition in national and international competitions

Basic information

Name of the product

 “Ultimo Grappolo”

Vine variety

Moscato

Denomination

wine made by dried grapes

Classification

wine made by dried grapes

Color

white

Typology

dried grapes

Country/region

Italy – Piedmont

Alcohol content

12 % vol. (roughly)

Residual sugar

150 – 200 g/l. (roughly)

Total acidity

about 6 g/L

Vinification process

Method

the grapes are ripened directly in the vineyard until they reach roughly 13.50 to 14% vol. of the alcohol potential, after which the harvest is carried out. The clusters (which are cut into small pieces) are placed on racks in a ventilated room. They are then left to dry for about a month, until they reach 20-25% vol. of the alcohol potential. The grapes are then pressed whole and the must is clarified spontaneously (without the use of fining agents), and then the alcoholic fermentation begins using a special strain of selected yeast. The product is made exclusively in particularly favorable vintage years when the withering of the grapes is at its utmost in order to ensure the highest quality level

Temperature

15 ° c for the entire duration of the process

Duration

over 20 days

Malolactic fermentation

not carried out

Aging

4 months in steel containers

Age of barrels

not used

Type of barrels

not used

Type of wood

not used

Toasting level

not used

Percentage of new barrels

not used

Length of time in wood

not used

Minimum length of time in bottles

15 days after bottling

Bottle        

Weight of empty bottle

500 grams

Aging potential

4 years maximum

Cork size

28 x 42

Cork material

cork

Bottle type

Renana Orlèans 0,375 l

Vineyard        

% Grape/vine

100 % Moscato

Terrain

marly, with an abundance of limestone

Faces

south – west

Agricultural method

spontaneous grassing, cut twice during the spring – summer period and soil tillage (ripper subsoiling with 3 teeth) to a 30-40 cm depth, carried out in autumn. Limited use of herbicides and fungicides

Year planted

1977

Type of harvest

manually in cases

Geo-localization

medium hill