Piedmont, Italy.....
Aurora wines are produced by Carlo and Bruno Volpi’s enologist, Giuliano Noe, at Cantina Aurora in Tortona. The Volpi winery was founded by Christiana Cairo Volpi at the turn of the century. In 1914 her two sons continued her initiative. The Volpi family had been in the restaurant business, having owned both the Trattoria de Cappel Verde and the Bar Venezia. Their passion for wine and food continues to this day, with cousins Bruno and Carlo Volpi running the winery. Although the Volpis’ produce an assortment of famous Piedmontese wines, such as Barolo and Barbaresco, they are best known for Barbera and Cortese from the Tortona Hills.
THE VINE: The greatest of the native white grapes of the Italian northwest, the Moscato vine produces renowned Moscato D’Asti and Asti Spumante. The Moscato is Piemonte’s oldest known varietal and has been yielding sweet, fragrant wines for nearly 1000 years.
THE WINE: Cantina Aurora Moscato Piemonte is a wine with a story. Bruno and Carlo Volpi were seeking a special wine to present to their best clients as a holiday gift, a sincere sign of their appreciation. Since there is a tradition of drinking fresh Moscato with Panettone on the feast of St. Steven on December 26, the Volpi’s decided to offer Moscato wine. But there was hardly time to prepare a label. So they quickly wrote out the data for the label on a type of letter stock similar to the paper used by local butchers to wrap their fresh meat. Needless to say, both the wine and the label proved so popular that Bruno and Carlo were compelled to commercialize the wine.
Cantina Aurora Moscato Piemonte is fermented in a pressurized stainless steel tank, called an “autoclave.” When the alcohol reaches 5.5%, the fermentation is stopped by chilling down the must. This results in a light, crisp, sweet wine with a natural frizzante, or crackle, and a clean finish.
TECHNICAL FACTS:
Characteristics: A pale straw color with a slight sparkle, a fresh aroma with touches of peaches and apricots, a refreshingly sweet taste with a clean, crisp finish.
Grapes: 100% Moscato
Food Affinities: Although Moscato is typically consumed as an “after-dinner” treat, it is equally welcome as an aperitif. Perfect alone or with Panettone, an Italian Christmas cake.