Moscato Giallo

For a long time Moscato Giallo was believed to have come from Syria, a story preserved in synonyms such as Moscato dalla Siria and Moscato Sirio. DNA profiling has since undermined that account. Genetic work shows a direct parent-offspring link between this variety and the Muscat family's oldest known member, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (known in Italy as Moscato Bianco), which turns up in writings from the early 14th century under the name Muscatellus. That ancestry makes Moscato Giallo the likely younger partner, and it places the variety in northern Italy rather than the Middle East. Some Swiss research is more cautious, describing it as a cross in which Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains was one parent and the other has never been identified, so the exact pedigree is still held with some reserve.

The same link ties Moscato Giallo into a wider Muscat family. It is related, as half-sibling or grandchild, to several varieties that are also connected to Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, among them Moscato di Scanzo, Aleatico, Moscato Rosa del Trentino and Muscat of Alexandria. In Valais, DNA showed that the local Muscat du Pays vineyards are a field mixture in which Moscato Giallo grows alongside Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. In Alto Adige the variety expanded sharply in modern times, from about 12 hectares in 1990 to roughly 90 hectares in recent industry figures.

Moscato Giallo is vigorous and ripens early to mid-season, which keeps it within reach of the cooler, higher vineyards of Alto Adige and Trentino. Bunches are large and loose, carrying thick-skinned berries that cope well with botrytis and are moderately tolerant of downy and powdery mildew. The vine is prone to phomopsis and to chlorosis, the latter making soil choice important: it does best on calcareous slopes, such as the limestone and dolomite-influenced soils of South Tyrol. In Alto Adige it is planted across a wide range of elevations, from low, warm sites to cooler slopes well up the hillsides. Loose bunches and thick skins also make the variety a workable candidate for drying in passito production.

Varietal wines are typically golden in color and strongly perfumed, with a grapey or musky character and only moderate acidity. Alto Adige shows the greatest range. Manincor makes a fully dry, wild-yeast version with about 0.4 g/l residual sugar, giving a taut, floral and herbal take on the grape. Other Alto Adige estates and cooperatives, among them Tiefenbrunner, Cantina Tramin, St. Michael-Eppan and Erste+Neue, bottle both dry and lightly sweet or amabile examples, usually in stainless steel or concrete to protect the aroma. Passito wines made from dried grapes are a regional tradition, with Produttori Merano and Nals Margreid known for archetypal sweet versions. In the Veneto, the Fior d'Arancio Colli Euganei DOCG covers still, sparkling and passito wines of at least 95 percent Moscato Giallo; the still wine may be dry or sweet, while the sparkling and passito versions are sweet.