Everyone is looking for a sparkling wine for the holidays or any other special occasion. Here are two wines that both have significant levels of carbon dioxide to make the tiny bubbles which makes it a popular choice throughout the holiday seasons. Although Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante has been a great seller throughout the years in America, Umberto Fiore Moscato d’Asti has not reached the crowds during the holidays. Both are sweet, sparkling, simple wines that are great with fruit or alone.
Most sparkling wines are produced from Moscato grapes that are mainly from the Asti region in Piedmont, Italy. When Asti Spumante was first introduced to wine lovers in America, many wine lovers did not purchase the wine for some unknown reason. Hence, the wineries feared the wine had a bad reputation for some reason, many companies decided to change the name to the shorter Asti. So, now in America, we can purchase Asti wines however in Europe the bubbly wines are still known today as Asti Spumante.
Both white sparkling wines are certified from the DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) in Italy. By looking at the two bottles, each one contains the Italian quality assurance label that is usually wrapped around the top just before the lip of the opening or dressed down the side of the bottle. Although it is in Italian, it does have DOCG written on it. To be DOCG labeled, each wine is analyzed and tasted by government-licensed personnel before being bottled and is given a certain amount of bottles labels before having to be tested again. It is much like a product license.
Martini & Rossi is an Italian alcoholic beverage company that is now owned by the ever popular Bacardi. The original company started in 1863 and has ever since been producing vermouth and sparkling wines such as the Asti Spumante. The bottle is of a Champagne style of bottle that is traditional for sparkling wines. It contains about 9.5% alcohol and low acidity.
Umberto Fiore Moscato d’Asti is also an Italian alcoholic beverage company. The company began in 1880 and has been producing wine every since. One of the distinguishing marks of the Umberto Fiore bottles is the mark “Albeisa” just above the middle of the glass bottle. This marking refers to the type of hand blown bottle that was typical from the area of Alba near the 1800’s. It is slightly green with a traditional cork. It contains about 5.5% alcohol and is very low in acidity.
Both wines are fantastic in taste, partially due to the tiny bubbles that tickles the nose as it is sipped from champagne glasses. The Asti Spumante is slightly sweeter than the d’Asti however the d’Asti has a little less forced fizz. Therefore, wine lovers occasionally refer to the Moscato d’Asti as a pedigree sparkling wine, unlike the cheaper version of the Asti Spumante. Both go great with desserts or just the occasional holiday drinking.
As with any wine, the cost depends on the retailer however the Asti Spumante usually ranges around ten dollars for a 375ML sized bottle where a 750ML sized bottle of d’Asti costs around ten dollars. For a 750ML bottle of Asti Spumante during the holiday seasons, I have seen the price around twenty dollars while the d’Asti consistently stays around the ten dollar mark.
As for the taste, I prefer the d’Asti. Along with other wine lovers, the taste of the d’Asti is sweet, aromatic and distinctive. The Asti Spumante is a little less of a distinguished taste and has too many bubbles sometimes. It is discouraging to be talking to some of higher rank and your throat gets clogged by the bubbles which can cause you to cough uncontrollably. I would suggest the Umberto Fiore Moscato d’Asti over the Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante based on the price and the flavor.
