Summertime… and the living is easy.” Gershwin was onto something with that lyric. And doesn’t it make you crave a sparkling cocktail?
Summer is a good excuse to mix up your cocktail game with a little bubbly. But as you stare blankly at the liquor store shelf, you’re struck by the age-old question: Where do I begin?
It’s no secret that adding sparkling wine to your cocktails is a fun way to celebrate summer. Having said that, we’re here to deliver insider information. You shouldn’t use just any old sparkling wine. You should use a premium Italian sparkling wine from the Asti DOCG.
When it comes to choosing the right sparkling wine, Asti DOCG is a smart (and often overlooked) choice. The wines — made predominantly from the Moscato Bianco grape — are aromatic, fruity, and lower in alcohol, making them perfect for long, lazy afternoons or aperitivo hours. Because they’re crafted with intention and a long-standing tradition of quality, they are perfect on their own but certainly elevate any cocktail they’re added to.
Hailing from the northwest corner of the boot — top of the shoelace, if you will — Asti DOCG is a vino powerhouse from Piedmont. Winemakers in Asti have been producing delicious wine for over 150 years, with the first spumante — Italian for sparkling wine — produced in 1865.
Moscato Bianco is produced into two quite tasty but very distinct wines: Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti.
Spumante can technically be made from any grapes a number of different ways, but today we’re discussing the refreshing, floral, and under-utilized-in-cocktails Moscato Bianco.
Grown in nearly 10,000 hectares across 51 municipalities and 4,000 vineyards in Asti, Moscato Bianco has an intensity that gives way to a fragrant bouquet like an Italian summer garden. Botanical essences wind their way into your olfactory, specifically those of wisteria, lime flowers, peach, apricot, and delicate hints of lemon and orange blossoms.
Asti Spumante is more of a traditional sparkling wine. It’s mainly produced using the Metodo Martinotti (also known as the Charmat Method), but also with Metodo Classico (the traditional Champenoise method). After the juice of the pressed grapes goes through the initial fermentation, the wine is then added to stainless-steel pressurized tanks where sugar and yeast are added, the end result producing concentrated carbon dioxide.
Like Champagne, Asti Spumante has a variety of sweetness levels, ranging from extra dry, dry, brut, and dolce, the most popular one. The wine has a relatively low, food-friendly alcohol count — between 6–8 percent and 11 percent for the brut version. The mushroom cork, most typically used in sparkling wines, unlocks floral aromas like acacia, orange and bergamot flowers, along with notes of ripe lemon.
Moscato d’Asti, on the other hand, is a frizzante, semi-sparkling wine that’s lower in alcohol (5 percent) with subtle fizz. Production begins in stainless-steel tanks as the grapes are rapidly pressed to reduce oxidation. The must — pressed juice — is clarified and filtered. Neutral cultured yeast is used in a single fermentation in pressure-resistant tanks along with the must. The trapped carbon dioxide gives the wine its semi-sparkling quality with a natural sweetness derived from the grapes.
The result is a rich aromatic bouquet of orange blossom with a delightful sweetness on the palate with notes of spice and mountain honey.
So now that the sun is shining, the pool is open, and the bottle of Asti DOCG is popped, you’re in need of a cocktail. Looking to mix up your cocktails? Below are a couple of standout summer sippers that highlight Asti wines beautifully.
Asti Cooler
Summertime beverages have two functions: to be refreshing, and to be delicious. This cocktail marries fresh flavors of mint, lemon juice, and pressed cucumber with London dry gin, spicy ginger beer, and the floral, balanced sweetness of Moscato d’Asti DOCG.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Moscato d’Asti DOCG
- 6 mint leaves
- 3 cucumber slices
- 1 half lemon (squeezed)
- 1 ounce gin
- 2 ounces ginger beer
- Garnish: twist of lemon, mint sprig
Directions
- Add mint, cucumber, squeezed lemon, and gin to a shaker tin.
- Gently muddle to express the ingredients.
- Add ice and shake vigorously for 3–4 seconds.
- Empty tin into a Collins glass, adding more ice if needed.
- Top with ginger beer and Moscato d’Asti. Stir to incorporate the flavors. Garnish with a twist of lemon and sprig of mint.
Asti Signature
Created by Giorgio Facchinetti for the 2021 summer, this cocktail has been a signature drink for the Consorzio dell’Asti. Appreciated by international sports personalities, wine lovers, and mixologists all over Italy and the world. The drink brings together vegetal basil leaves, tart grapefruit, and sichuan pepper to make a lively summer sipper.
Ingredients
- Asti Spumante Dolce DOCG, to top
- 4 basil leaves
- 1 slice pink grapefruit
- Garnish: grapefruit peel curl, Szechuan peppercorn
Directions
- Pour a small base of Asti Spumante Dolce and add the 4 basil leaves and the slice of pink grapefruit to infuse.
- Stir well and add ice.
- Finally, top the glass with Asti Spumante Dolce and a curl of pink grapefruit peel and finish the drink with a sprinkle of Szechuan pepper.
Head over to the Consorzio dell’Asti site to discover more recipes. And be sure to send your cocktail creations to their Instagram, Facebook and TikTok channels.
Cin cin!
This article is sponsored by Consorzio Asti DOCG.
