Pinocchio 2011 Moscato

Winemaking

The grapes were de stemmed to our air bag press and the juice gently and protectively handled to a stainless steel tank using full gas cover and sulphur dioxide additions during the pressing cycle. After cold settling to separate the lees (solids) the clear juice was racked (pumped) to a fermentation vessel where it was inoculated with an aroma enhancing strain of yeast. The wine was cold fermented (10-12 deg C) until approx. 6.5 % of alcohol by volume was converted from the grape sugars, at which stage the ferment was stopped by a combination of sulphur additions and the dramatic lowering of the wine's temperature to 0 degrees Celsius. The wine was held at 0 degrees and constantly saturated with CO2 during the stabilising and filtration process in readiness for bottling. The wine was bottled at two degrees Celsius to help retain its "spritz".

Bottling

July 2011.
Sealed under screw cap.

Technical information

Alc. Vol.: 6.5 %
Residual sugar: 98 grams per litre (sweet)
PH: 3.17
Total acidity: 7.23 gms/litre
Dissolved CO2: 3.5g/litre

Tasting notes

I have long been a fan of the wonderful wines from Italy known as Moscato D'Asti. They are intriguing for their beguiling nose of lychees and ginger, the delicious frizzante (fizz) they carry and the refreshing spine of acidity that cuts through the sweetness of the unfermented grape sugar. I especially like the fact that the alcohol is quite low! This, our seventh attempt, seems quite credible to me, a fair copy one could say. It can be enjoyed with dessert, a number of cheeses, particularly dolce latte and piccante Gorgonzola as well as pastries and brioches.

Cellaring

Enjoy while young.