The new “Moscato d’Asti”: an interview with Riccardo Bianco, Winery Mongioia from Santo Stefano Belbo
Riccardo Bianco, owner of winery Mongioia from Santo Stefano Belbo, since childhood he has been lived for his land, but he is careful about every opportunity could led to new developments of the “Moscato d’Asti DOCG”.
When the grape of Moscato reaches the maturation is yellow as gold and sweet as honey. In the countryside, a bottle of Moscato is essential for celebrating memorable events, but only those relevant to the preciousness of this nectar of the gods.
Riccardo Bianco wants to give a new face to Moscato, respecting for traditions; he tells us what it’s happening in the industry and what could be the key for the revival of Moscato and his Piedmont!
Riccardo is not a fool, he knows that market is always changing and the consumer is more informed and more demanding. It’s not enough having a good product, the most important thing is satisfy the consumer expectations!
Riccardo Bianco is a defender that with his own strength supports Moscato, not only his Mongioia. It would be amazing if even the farmers from Piedmont could learn that “small is beautiful” and that together we can win battles more easily!
Riccardo, what is the market situation of “Moscato” in Italy?
In these years the market of “Moscato d’Asti DOCG tappo raso” has grown significantly even revealing an increase over the “Asti Spumante DOCG”! Consumers and lovers until some time ago were used to think more about the “Spumante”, perceived as a product less “handmade”. When they arrived here and discovered the “Moscato DOCG” of small producers, which is a very different wine, they were pleasantly surprised by this kind of wine.
How is this wine considered outside the country?
For some time in the United States is “MoscatoMania”, Americans are crazy for the Moscato and the foreign market shows positive growth. Even in the Mediterranean countries this wine is greatly appreciated.
What makes the “Moscato d’Asti DOCG” unique?
The “Moscato d’Asti DOCG” producers are small winery that work with care and respect for the grapes. We aim to make a wine of great quality, a wine with a soul. And all this dedication and attention are perceived and felt, inevitably, also in the glass.
Who drank once and who is drinking now Moscato?
Dispelling a myth, Moscato is not a wine for women. Women like Moscato, it’s true, but it can also be a wine for ‘real men’. We, for example, in Mongioia created a couple of wines, two labels with different connotations that are just the male face (Belb) and female (Lamoscata) of Moscato. In conclusion, there is a Moscato for everyone.
How do you drink this wine, it is still a wine dessert?
Good question. For years Moscato was a wine dessert, used only to match with sweets. But today it is no longer the case, fortunately. There is not a perfect match, but there are many excellent: Moscato can be an aperitif wine, also used for the preparation of cocktails, but it’s good for the whole meal. We have invested heavily in this direction, we focused only on the Moscato. We experimented and specialized in creating six different labels capable of responding to the demands of different consumers and matching with dishes that once were unexpected in combinations.
What’s to be done for making the Moscato market work better?
We are working well on the land, we are having a positive influence on each other and it is clear that when a company does a good job and has a good market feedback, create an armature which is good for the other. The synergy is essential as well as, in my opinion, the work we are doing for some time to realize the “tailored” wines that meet the needs of different customers and which lend themselves to any occasion.
What are the prospects of Moscato, in particular those of the small farmers from Piedmont of “Moscato d’Asti DOCG”?
The prospects are very good, there is still much to do but we have plenty of opportunities and we hope that soon the “MoscatoMania” could conquer the world!
