Barbera e Moscato d'Asti, Cortese, Barbera d'Asti Superiore, vino Bag in Box: in vendita on-line - Cantina Sociale di Mombaruzzo.

 The Mombaruzzo Wine Cellar is geographically situated in the paradise of Moscato.

It is a demanding grape variety, preferring hilly terrain and calcareous soil, with sun to fully ripen the fruit towards the middle of September, when the bunch achieves its characteristic amber-gold colour and is enriched with fruity aromas. The vinification of this cultivar produces Moscato d’Asti and the famous Asti Spumante and, following the withering of the grapes, excellent quality Passito (raisin wines) are also obtained.

This is the oldest grape variety from the Asti and Alessandria districts. Twenty years ago it risked extinction but, saved by the typical traditionalism of certain indomitable winegrowers, is now one of the most sought-after wines on the Italian market. It is a cultivar that requires constant special attention, due to its limited resistance to disease. It ripens early (first ten days of September) and is vinified to make Brachetto d’Acqui, a sweet, aromatic red wine, characterised by a floral note of roses and an excellent flavour balance.

Freisaa is a traditional Monferrato grape variety. It has average sized bunches, which are cylindrical, elongated and straggly clustered. It ripens towards the end of September – beginning of October. It is a tenacious, resistant cultivar, which adapts well to both clay and marly soil. The grapes give the wine a pleasant fruity perfume with notes of raspberry and fruits of the forest, a characteristic which is enhanced in lively, slightly sparking, new wines.

From Mombaruzzo, arriving from the north, we enter the area most thickly cultivated with the Dolcetto grape variety, which has gradually given way to Moscato, but has remained solidly clamped to the highest, most windswept hills. It is quite demanding in terms of soil and in soils which are particularly fresh or clayey, the berries “fall” when they ripen. The size of the bunch and the characteristic blue-black skin meant that this grape was also classed as a dessert grape for a long time but it is thanks to meticulous vinification that Dolcetto releases its cherry and macerated red berry scents.

Dolcetto is the everyday red wine, enjoyed by producers and consumers, rarely acidic and excellent for drinking while young.

Cortese is the white grape variety par excellence spread widely throughout the areas around Asti. It has average sized pyramid-shaped bunches with well-developed twigs. The berries have thin  yellowish white skin which turns golden or amber when exposed to the sun. The ripening period is before the end of September. The grapes are vinified to produce calm, fresh and light wines and, with the use of reduction techniques, products with a longer cellar life are obtained, characterised by more intense citrus flavours and scents of aromatic herbs, such as sage.

A grape-variety and a wine that can be described using a word from the dialect spoken where it grows – “courteisa” – courtesy definitely being a perfectly apt term.

A less characteristic and particular product than the others, but also spread across the world like few others. The Southern Asti and High Monferrato areas definitely provide an excellent environment for it to develop in.  Chardonnay is usually produced in two different versions: Young, fine and elegant wines with scents of apple and bread crust, and complex wines with longer cellar life vinified in the famous barriques (small oak casks) which enhance the body of the wine without disguising the typical aroma of liquorice, honey and acacia.