A week ago, on May 9th, was National Moscato Day. Whether you're a follower of these national wine days or not, it provides the perfect opportunity to have a reason to explore wine grapes or wine regions and try something new or that you haven’t had in some time. In my house we are lovers of dessert wines, especially the lighter, less unctuous styles that are refreshing like Moscato d’Asti can be.
Ca’d’Gal Winery
I attended a virtual tasting some months ago hosted by Studio Cru and was led by the owner of the Ca’d’Gal winery, Alessandro Varagnolo.
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| Alessandro Varagnolo - copyright of Cadgal |
The Ca’d’Gal brand has 2 wineries in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. One is Tenuta Valdivilla, set in the hills of the Langhe wine region in the town of Santo Stefano Belbo covering 6 hectares. A few kilometers away, in the gentle hills of the Monferrato area in Calamandrana, is the other property, Tenuta La Cova. This property has 9 hectares of vineyards with another 5 hectares of hazelnuts and the rest of the surrounding area is covered by forest. It was established back in 1989, but Alessandro took the winery over 2 years ago since the prior owner, Alessandro Buido, didn’t have children to pass his legacy on to.
Ca'd'Gal winery - copyright of Cadgal
The soils of the area are rich in marine sediment and the hills contain a crumbly soil with a high amount of limestone in their southern slopes.
The steep slopes of Ca'd'Gal winery - copyright of Cadgal
The Ca’d’Gal Wines
All the wines of Ca’d’Gal featured today are produced with the Moscato, or Muscat grape, which typically produce white wines that have beautiful fruity aromatics followed by fruitful notes on the palate of peach and apricot. If you are a lover of wines that are sweet these are for you!
The Ca’d’Gal Asti Spumante DOCG is made 100% from Moscato Bianco from and comes from their youngest vineyards, 20-45 years in age. This is a newer wine they’re producing drawn up from the demand from the American market for a fresh wine. It is made with the charmat, or Martinotti method, where the fermentation was stopped at 7% ABV. Floral aromas with apricot notes. Delicate and light bubbles on the palate. A nice balance with a touch of sweetness with stone fruit notes.
The 2023 Ca’d’Gal Sant’Ilario Canelli DOCG is made from a single vineyard of 70-year-old vines on sandy soils. The wine is kept in stainless steel at 0 degrees after filtration with the lees until the spring bottling and is released in September of the following year. Floral stone fruit aromas also showing on the palate with a light effervescence and nice minerality on the finish.
The 2016 Ca’d’Gal Vite Vecchia Moscato d’Asti DOCG, also called vigna vecchia, comes from a single vineyard in Valdivilla in a southeast position known as “sori”. This is their last wine to harvest so that the grapes are overripe for balance of the sugar and acidity. These bottles are left to age for 60 months in a temperature-controlled grotto made of tufo that is dark and humid providing a natural aging environment. This is where the “magic happens” as Alessandro expressed. The bottles lay in sand filled wooden boxes. They have found that this results in the wines having a richness and finesse allowing the bottles to withstand longevity.
Ca'd'Gal Vite Vecchia wines in sand - copyright of Cadgal
Yellow and straw colored with aromas of tangerine and apricot. Beautiful freshness and finesse with a well-balanced wine showing stone fruit on the palate and a hint of an herbal characteristic. This wine is produced in limited quantities.
What kinds of food can I pair with Moscato?
Although I tend to drink Moscato on its own, it can be a great accompaniment to a charcuterie board with dried meats or even paired with spicy foods and of course select dessert dishes.
Although Ca'd'Gal isn't sold on wine.com you can find many other Moscato d'Asti wines to sample at Wine.com in support of Vino Travels.
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