Scagliola Giacomo e Figlio SiFaSol Canelli Moscato d’ Asti – Wine Infused with Goodness

Scagliola Giacomo e Figlio SiFaSol Canelli Moscato d’ Asti – Wine Infused with Goodness

It is becoming rare to be able to afford and enjoy a wine with its roots that go deep in a territory rich in beauty and tradition like Scagliola Giacomo e Figlio SiFaSol Canelli Moscato d’ Asti DOCG. This wine “calls home” the Piemonte hills between Langa and Monferrato where two wine families. There the Giacomo and Gioconda families acquired the historic Cascina Fajaon farmstead in one of the most suited and historically significant areas for the production of Muscat Canelli wine grapes.

The Tasting: Sweet, Refreshing and Mildly Effervescent 

This Moscato d’ Asti invigorates all the senses: The eyes greet this wine’s golden color; then, the perfume of citrus, honeysuckle and musk waft above it. The palate receives a silky titillation of tiny carbonated bubbles and the wine’s medium-plus acidity to create a refreshing balance with sweetness. The flavors are a combo of  honeyed peach, apricot and tropical mango. And you know what? This multi-sensory wine can be enjoyed with a mind unencumbered by the blur of excessive alcohol (only 5.5%). This wine IS sweet seduction worthy to carry the high standard of DOCG. 

Wine Infused with Goodness

In late August to early September the Muscat grapes in this vineyard are round, ripe and golden, glowing with a yellow-gold hue under a canopy of green. They are ready for handpicking. The grapes have the sugar content to make a 13% alcohol wine when they are soft pressed, clarified, and cold fermented in a pressure tank. There, the fermentation is stopped making a wine of a mere 5.5% alcohol and having the unique perfume of muscat infused with carbonation ready to be bottled. The residual sugar is likely in the range of 10%, but I would say that many tasters will under estimate this value, making it a worthy diner wine and not just saved for desserts.

• Winery: Scagliola Giacomo e Figlio, a family-owned winery in the Piedmont region of Italy from the historic Cascina Fajaon property
• Grape Variety: 100% Moscato Bianco 
• Region: Canelli, within the Moscato d’Asti DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) area
• Rating: 90/100 for offering a multi-sensory experience  with finesse, complexity, and balance 
• Pairings: From aperitif to soft cheeses and creamy desserts to spicy main-course Indian, Thai or TexMex cuisines (one of my favorites is buffalo enchiladas with red chili sauce), and finally for midnight sips with an intimate companion.
• Price: $18 in most domestic markets. For more, click here.
• Moscato Trivia: My guess is that the “Si Fa Sol” on the label corresponds to musical notes Si (B), Fa (F), and Sol (G). Maybe it’s from my musical training or how this wine now plays on my senses. What do you think? Make a guess.

Russ Kane, VintageTexas.com