11 Jun “Complexity” and “Longevity” are not two words usually associate with Moscato d’Asti…Until you try the wines of Ca’ D’Gal

Moscato d’Asti, the sweet sparkling wine with low alcohol levels from Piemonte, Italy, is often described as “light”, “fruity”, “fun”, and “sweet”. Two words not associated with Moscato d’Asti are “complexity” and “longevity” unless you are talking about the wines of Ca’ D’Gal Moscato d’Asti which I wrote about for Men’s Journal and share here.

Ca’ D’Gal is built on the hills of Valdivilla—a small village of Santo Stefano Belbo in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont—the heart of the Moscato D’Asti terroir. The historic winery dates to the early 1900s when Giuseppe Gallo made wine. Gallo means rooster in Italian, and in the Piemontese dialect, Ca’ D’Gal means “House of the Rooster”. The first label of Ca’ D’Gal was in 1998 when Alessandro Boido, Guiseppe Gallo’s great-great-grandson, took over the winery. Then in 2022, Alessandro Varagnolo purchased the winery.

Alessandro Varagnolo did not grow up in the wine business but rather around it. Raised in Torino, his parents would take him to wine events in the area. While his passion for wine was born, he went to study economics, first in Milano and then in New York and Boston. Alessandro was working in industrial consultancy but at the age of 29, he decided he wanted to set his own roots and give birth to his family’s dream of moving from Torino to Cuneo. As Alessandro Boido did not have children of his own to take over Ca’ D’Gal, he sold it to Alessandro Varagnolo.

Alessandro purchased Ca’ D’Gal in 2022 and worked the first harvest with Boido. But the 2023 vintage marks Alessandro’s first vintage on his own. And with that comes a new team and a new energy to build upon this historic place. Alessandro also brought on a winemaker consultant Luca Caramellino who has been mentoring him.

There are 20 acres of Moscato planted in the vineyard in Valdivilla. The vineyard sits 400 meters (1300 feet) high. The soil is rich in marine sediment and there is a higher percentage of limestone, called “sori”, in the southern slopes. Some of the vines are as old as 70+ years.

Alessandro’s goal at Ca’ D’Gal is to create a new identity of Moscato d’Asti, seeking to express the best of the grape variety and giving the wine the personality of a great sweet white. His first discovery while focusing on the beautiful Moscato grapes was its aging potential. His second discovery is the versatility of Moscato as demonstrated through his four expressions of Moscato.

Ca’ D’Gal Asti Spumante DOCG ($21)
Asti Spumante is a sparkling wine made from Moscato. Asti Spumante is typically off-dry. Compared to Moscato d’Asti, Asti Spumante has an alcohol content between 7% and 9.5% (Moscato d’Asti is 5.5%) and firmer bubbles. The Ca’ D’Gal Asti Spumante has aromas of fresh apple. The sweetness of the wine is moderate and well-balanced by the fresh acidity. On the palate, the wine is smooth and creamy. Enjoy this wine as an aperitivo or with dessert or try mixing it in a cocktail.

Ca’ D’Gal Moscato d’Asti DOCG Lumine 2023 ($18)
Lumine is Latin for light, as reflected on the label in which the yellow represents the sun. The wine is a golden yellow color with aromas of acacia flower, green apple, yellow peach, and herbal sage and rosemary notes. The wine is lively with a balance between sweetness and acidity. Pair this traditional Moscato with fresh strawberries or peaches or desserts like panna cotta.

Ca’ D’Gal Moscato d’Asti DOCG S. Ilario 2022 ($19)
The Moscato is sourced from 70-year-old vines from a more sandy, single vineyard in Cassinasco, on hills over Canelli. Moscato d’Asti is made in the Charmat method, meaning secondary fermentation takes place in the tank. Typically, this secondary fermentation takes place on an as-needed basis throughout the year, but the Ca’ D’Gal S. Ilario is made only once per year and bottled after spring. The wine is a deep yellow color and the nose is complex and elegant. It has notes of peach and apricot, as well as floral and sage notes. The wine is sweet but light with vibrant acidity. This wine is complex and gastronomic. This is a wine to enjoy with oysters, raw fish, and even old cheeses. But it is also a wine with the potential for longevity as it can also sit in the cellar for another 10-15 years before opening.

Ca’ D’Gal Moscato d’Asti DOCG Vite Vecchia 2016 ($66)
The grapes come from old vines in the single vineyard in Valdivilla. The grapes are ripe when they are picked, and the wine is bottled in the spring. The bottles are then laid down in boxes and covered with sand where the humidity and temperature are controlled for five years. This is the way Giuseppe Gallo, and his generation, would do it. They would put the bottles in grottos in the hills and the water would help maintain the humidity control. During this aging process, the wine becomes very complex and elegant. The aromas are different, offering notes of balsamic herbs, rosemary, sage, and spice. On the palate, the wine is complex and elegant with a caramelized, earthy, beeswax character. This wine is in limited production and can be enjoyed with oysters as well as Parmesan cheese.

While the Moscato d’Asti wines of Ca’ D’Gal can be described as light, fruity, and fun, they are also complex with aging potential. Running Ca’ D’Gal is a new course in life for Alessandro Varagnolo, as well as a new identity for Moscato d’Asti.

Read the original story in Men’s Journal.