Moscato Giallo which is this week’s indigenous variety comes from what is called the Triveneto area which is comprised of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. It is thought to come from the Middle East, possibly Siria and to have made it’s way to Northern Italy thanks to the Venetian merchants. It is part of the Alto Adige DOC, Trentino DOC, Colli Euganei DOC, and Corti Benedetttine del Padovano DOCs. Moscato Giallo does well on hills with limestone. It has a thick skin and works well as a grape to dry to make sweet wines. In the Colli Euganei in the Veneto, this variety is called Moscato Fiori di Arancio.

I’ve had this one from the Kellerei Kaltern in Alto Adige and also this beautiful one from Castel Salleg that is a drier version than the first one I mentioned. It has citrus, mango and honey notes as well as floral aromas of orange blossom. Thanks to the great acidity in this grape, it works really well with foods. I think it would be great with Asian cuisines.

It is also the grape variety used in one of the first Italian dessert wines I ever tasted and still one of my favorites, 18 years later, Dindarello from Maculan.