Moscato di Scanzo

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Location of the DOCG Scanzorosciate

Moscato di Scanzo is the name of a controlled and guaranteed designation of origin ( DOCG - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita ) in Lombardy and the name of a dessert wine made in this wine-growing zone using the passito method . The traditional wine-growing region, one of the smallest appellations in Italy, lies entirely within the municipal boundaries of the city of Scanzorosciate in the province of Bergamo , about 50 kilometers northeast of Milan and 8 kilometers northeast of Bergamo . The wine-growing zone, located in the hilly, south-facing foothills of the Bergamasque Alps , today covers around 30 hectares, which are mainly concentrated in the northern and eastern areas of the municipality. The area and the Passito produced there were established as a DOC ( Denominazione di Origine Controllata ) in 2002 and upgraded to a DOCG in 2009. Some of their locations are within the DOC Valcalepio and the Terre di Colleoni .

The only grape variety approved for the production of DOCG wine is the red muscatel Moscato di Scanzo , whose main growing area is in this DOCG. The quality grape probably originated in this region. Since it is time-consuming to cultivate and the yields are unreliable, the area under vines is continuously decreasing. In addition to the Passito, remarkable dry red wines, mostly cuvées with Merlot and / or Cabernet Sauvignon , are made from this vine , but these wines are not DOCG certified.

The deep garnet red, mostly moderately sweet Passito is made from a single variety of grapes from Moscato di Scanzo that have been air-dried for at least three weeks . It matures in steel tanks for at least two years before it is bottled and sold.

Viticulture in this region probably goes back to Roman times. After the victory over the Gauls, many Roman legionaries , including those of Greek descent, got their estate here as veterans and began to cultivate wine. The name Rosciate (the independent communities Scanzo and Rosciate were merged into one community in 1927) is used alongside other attempts to explain the word parts ancient Greek . ῥώξ (= grape) and kelt . ate (= village), thus derived from grape village . In the Middle Ages, this wine was a sought-after product in the Renaissance courts of northern Italy, and in England in the 18th century it was one of the most expensive wines. In the 19th century it was the only Italian wine that was traded on the London Stock Exchange and the households of the English royal court still buy wines from this DOCG. Today the Moscato di Scanzo is produced by a little less than 40, mostly small, laboriously handcrafted companies. 33 of them are grouped together in a producer consortium , the Consorzio di Tutela Moscato di Scanzo (a trademark protection alliance). The average annual production is around 60,000 bottles, mostly half a liter (less often 0.375 liter), but it is subject to very strong fluctuations. Therefore good wines from this DOCG are high-priced products; However, they are among the best Passiti in Italy.

Location, soil and climate

Located in the DOCG zone

The DOCG wine-growing zone is located in a hilly area, where the Bergamasque Alps descend into the Po Valley . Exclusively exposed slopes in southerly directions, some steep slopes that are difficult to cultivate as well as slightly sloping terraced areas between 300 and 450 meters are planted with the Moscato di Scanzo vine. Most of the vineyards are located in the northern and northeastern part of the municipality, east of the Serio River ; they extend eastward into the territory of the formerly independent, but now part of Scanzorosciate, municipality of Negrone.

The soils are shallow marl limestone with a clay content of around 15%. In places occur rocks and boulders of the underlying bedrock to the surface, probably here because of its bright, bluish-gray color Sass de Luna ( Moon Stone is called). The Sass de Luna , a limestone that crumbles on the surface, is interspersed with turbidites with occasional trace fossils . The water storage capacity of the soil is sufficient; the light-colored rocks reflect and store solar heat and cause a certain compensation of the daily temperature fluctuations.

The climate is an east side climate , which is typical for the entire northern Italian region, but especially for the Po Valley. Precipitation is distributed throughout the year, but summers are more humid than winters. Overall, the annual rainfall is over 1000 mm / m². The summer temperatures are relatively high, peaks above 30 ° C are not uncommon. Winters are moderately humid and cool; In December, January and February there are frequent frost days, temperatures below −10 ° C also occur. Especially late frosts after a warm late winter can lead to significant crop failures.

Wine and wine characteristics

For a DOCG Moscato, the grapes must have grown within the wine-growing zone and all work steps for winemaking, bottling and ripening must take place in Scanzorosciate. The vineyards must be on slopes, steep slopes or on terraced areas, as training systems only a low cordon with tenon cut , called cordone speronata , a high trellis system ( casarsa ) or a simple pergola are permitted. Pergolas were the original form of education in the region, today you can only see them on extremely steep slopes or on the edge of terraces; they are gradually being replaced mainly with low cordons. The locations must be planted with at least 3500 vines / hectare, the hectare yield is limited to 7 tons of grapes. Artificial irrigation is not permitted. The harvest begins in mid-September and lasts until the first week of October. When harvested, the grapes must have a sugar content that allows fermentation alcohol of at least 12 percent by volume , which corresponds to about 90 ° Oechsle . For good quality, however, the sugar content of the grapes is much higher. The carefully picked grapes are then dried on wooden racks in roofed, open-sided rooms; the use of hot air blowers is permitted. The drying process, called appassimento , takes at least 3 weeks, but usually much longer. At the end of the drying process, the sugar content must be at least 280 grams / liter. Then the grapes are destemmed and lightly pressed and mashed for between four days and a week . The expansion takes place in steel tanks, wood expansion is not permitted. The maturity period is at least two years.

The Moscato di Scanzo is dark garnet red with purple reflections. With increasing age, purple and dark chocolate shades become more intense. The regulations prescribe at least 14 percent alcohol by volume and a further 3% potential alcohol with at least 4.5 grams / liter of total acid . This corresponds to a residual sugar of around 50 grams / liter, the wine must not contain more than 100 grams / liter. The wines are round and soft and never superficially sweet, but tend to be more abboccato than dolce . The aromas and taste nuances are diverse and complex: In addition to the subtle muscat tone typical of the variety, the focus of younger wines is on fruit aromas such as rose hips, plums and cherries; well-aged, carefully vinified products develop slight hints of almond, tobacco and chocolate as well as a variety of spicy notes. A Moscato di Scanzo reaches its best drinking maturity after about five years; If stored properly, this wine hardly loses quality over many years. For dessert it should be drunk chilled (~ 14 ° C), on its own, as a vino da meditazione a little warmer.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Disciplinare di Produzione (production regulations and description). (PDF) wineacts.it, accessed on July 16, 2020 (Italian, I vini italiani a Dop ea Igp).
  2. ↑ Map and list of growing areas on federdoc.com
  3. ↑ Moscato di Scanzo in the database Vitis International Variety Catalog of the Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof (English) June 2020
  4. ↑ Wine Grapes (see literature) Keyword: Moscato di Scanzo
  5. ↑ Information brochure (PDF), consumatorilombardia.it, accessed on December 4, 2015
  6. ^ Website of the Consorzio
  7. ↑ Zona di produzione e storia
  8. ^ Tom Stephenson: The New Sotheby's Wine Enzyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley 1997 ISBN 0-7513-0313-5 , p. 316 / Good non-DOC Moscato is made in Lombardy and the Moscato di Scanzo is undoubtedly the best. (Author's note: When this edition of this work went to press, Scanzo was not yet a DOC)
  9. ↑ Il Terroir ( Memento of the original from November 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / pietramatta.com
  10. ↑ Temperature extremes Bergamo
  11. ↑ Detailed climate data for Bergamo pdf

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