Finally things are calming down at the winery and in the area. Harvest finished several weeks ago and the intense cellar work that follows has eased enough for us to catch our breath.
Maceration is complete, the wines are racked, and malolactic fermentation is largely finished. Now, as the wines rest peacefully in our barrels, the begin their slow aging process.
The 2024 vintage was a challenging one requiring a lot of work and energy right until end. It brings to mind past vintages that we naively believed would never return. While we are tired, we are also satisfied. These wines show promise with excellent freshness, intense and pleasant aromas, good body, and lower alcohol levels.
The journey of the 2024 vintage has just begun. We will update you on their evolution as we prepare for their release.
2024: the first born
Ah, our sweet, effervescent Moscato.
Moscato d’Asti is an extraordinary dessert wine offering freshness, fragrance, and delightful flavors combined with an alcohol level of just 5% – an unbeatable mix!
Did you know that Serralunga d’Alba is the only municipality in the Barolo area also included in the production zone of this DOCG?
Because Serralunga is in the Moscato d’Asti DOCG production zone, in the late 1970s my grandfather Giuseppe decided to plant moscato vineyard. My family sold the fruit back then because the equipment needed for its production was too expensive and they also felt they needed to increase their knowledge of this particular wine.
However with the arrival of the fourth generation in the early 1990s, we decided to give it a try with our first bottles of Moscato d’Asti DOCG produced in 1993. Since then, we have invested in new vineyards and technologies. Today, we produce our Moscato d’Asti DOCG directly at our winery in Serralunga and oversee the entire production process.
In 2024, we harvested the grapes in early September, vinified them with great care, and completed the first bottling at the end of November. It’s ready now!
With excellent freshness and captivating aromas, it is enjoyed and appreciated by practically everyone. It pairs beautifully, especially with desserts. During the holiday season, we love it with panettone and all kinds of delicious sweets.
Cheers!
Corks: an endless debate!
When we close a bottle, we say that our winemaking role is officially complete, putting our seal on the long months of work both in the vineyard and in the cellar. For this reason, it’s essential to make the right choices.
As in every industry, continuous research and experimentation leads to new solutions and alternatives that we believe must always be carefully evaluated.
In the past, only natural cork was used—a noble closure but also one potentially fraught with various defects. Sometimes these defects are not obvious but subtle, preventing the consumer from fully appreciating the quality of the purchased bottle.
Well aware of this issue, over the past 20 years or so, we have tested most of the innovative closures available to producers. Today we conclude that there are options capable of guaranteeing extremely high performance, consistently and reliably over time. One of these is undoubtedly the screw cap. Once considered synonymous with low quality, it is now widely used by many top-tier producers worldwide.
For several years now, we have also offered this closure for certain lots of different wines, always achieving excellent results!
After numerous tastings, this year we decided to use only screw caps for our Moscato d’Asti DOCG 2024, which has just been released to the market. We are confident in the perfect preservation of the wine’s typical freshness and fragrances!
2025 is just around the corner
Only a few days remain of 2024 as another year nears the end. The year was complex for many reasons—some so significant that we don’t feel comfortable mentioning them. But, we hope they will be resolved very soon for the peace and well-being of the entire world.
As for our winery, despite everything, 2024 has been a year of growth. We opened at least four new markets, celebrated important achievements, and, above all, received countless messages of appreciation from you—our true “judges”. These messages recount beautiful evenings spent with friends and family, in serenity and joy, accompanied by our wines.
We revel in the thought that even in some small way we contributed to making those moments enjoyable. And if we succeeded, it means we’ve done our job well.
For us, these are the true rewards!
A heartfelt and genuine wish for a Happy 2025 from all of us at the MASSOLINO family and team!
