*Canti *Asti DOCG Liberty

An off-dry Italian fizz from Canti

Not all fizz has to be complex and serious; this is a softer, easier-drinking example from Italy’s North West.

Asti is is a sparkling Italian wine produced in Piedmont around the towns of Asti and Alba. It is Italy’s largest-producing appellation, stretching into the Cuneo and Alessandria provinces; the area is hilly with the sloping vineyards creating many different mesoclimates and exposures.

Made from Moscato Bianco (aka Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains), it is sweet and low in alcohol. Unlike Champagne, the fizz comes from a single-tank Charmat-method fermentation. After the grapes are harvested, crushed and pressed, the must is transferred to large tanks where the temperature is lowered to just above freezing in order to prevent fermentation from beginning.

The tanks are then sealed and pressurized and the temperature raised to induce fermentation which continues until the wine has reached between 7–9% alcohol and between 3–5% residual sugar. The wine is then chilled again to halt fermentation, before being sent to a centrifuge to filters and remove all yeast (to prevent fermentation from resuming) before bottling.

Canti Asti NV (£9, Sainsbury’s)

Easy-drinking, simple-yet-enjoyable off-dry Italian fizz — like an alcoholic elderflower lemonade

8%

pale straw yellow; citrus, pineapple and grapey elderflower; spritzy, delicate and grapey with sweet lemon curd, pineapple pieces, orchard fruits and tropical fruits. Refreshing and off-dry.

Well made and thoroughly pleasant+.

Drinks nicely on first pouring.

An easy-drinking sipper, match with mixed starters.

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Vivino: Canti Liberty Asti | Vivino United Kingdom