Asti DOCG

Carlo Gancia, born in 1829 in Narzole, went to Reims in 1848 to learn the méthode champenoise at Piper Heidsieck. In 1850 he founded Fratelli Gancia & C. in Chivasso with his brother Edoardo, and Gancia dates to 1865 the wine it calls the first Italian spumante, made from Piedmontese Moscato and initially known as 'Moscato Champagne' or 'Champagne Italiano'. On 11 May 1866 the brothers moved the business to Canelli. In Decanter's account, Federico Martinotti invented the tank method for controlled fermentation in large vats, and Eugène Charmat developed the autoclave design that is still used today. Camillo Gancia led the founding of the Consorzio dell'Asti in 1932 to guarantee the origin and quality of Moscato. The DOC was recognised by presidential decree of 9 July 1967 and the DOCG by ministerial decree of 29 November 1993. The disciplinare names the type 'Asti' or 'Asti' spumante, and in Decanter's account modifications in 2017 and 2020 removed the old 9.5% alcohol ceiling, so Asti can now be fermented to dryness. The Canelli subzone became a separate DOCG in 2023, and rosato versions were added in 2026.

• Gancia: Carlo Gancia trained in Reims from 1848 and founded Fratelli Gancia & C. in Chivasso in 1850; Gancia dates what it calls the first Italian spumante to 1865 and moved to Canelli on 11 May 1866
• Federico Martinotti is credited with the tank method and Eugène Charmat with the autoclave design still used today
• DOC 9 July 1967; DOCG 29 November 1993; the 2017 and 2020 modifications allowed Asti to be fermented to dryness

The zone is delimited by whole municipalities: nine in the province of Alessandria (among them Acqui Terme and Strevi), 28 in the province of Asti (among them Canelli, Calosso and Nizza Monferrato) and 13 in the province of Cuneo (among them Santo Stefano Belbo, Castiglione Tinella and Serralunga d'Alba), plus the frazioni of Como and San Rocco Senodelvio in the comune of Alba. The soils formed more than 12 million years ago, when the retreating sea left what is now the Po Valley. The oldest land lies in the centre and west, on the Cassinasco formation of the Serravallian (13 to 11 million years ago), with sandstone and permeable sandy-loam soils; the younger east, formed 10 to 5 million years ago, sits on the Marne di Sant'Agata with visible gypsum veins and compact, water-retentive silty-loam soils. The vineyard hills lie between 150 and 600 metres, with 45% of vineyards between 200 and 300 metres, 30% between 300 and 400 metres and 17% above 400 metres, facing mainly south in the west and south-east or south-west in the east. The continental climate pushed growers onto the steepest slopes: of more than 10,000 hectares registered, 25% have gradients above 30%, 10% above 40% and 4% above 50%. Only hillside vineyards of favourable aspect, preferably calcareous or calcareous-clay, qualify; valley-floor or flat, light or damp sites are excluded.

• Zone: 9 Alessandria, 28 Asti and 13 Cuneo municipalities in full, plus two frazioni of Alba; the production area comprises 51 municipalities
• Altitude: hills between 150 and 600 m; 45% of vineyards at 200 to 300 m, 30% at 300 to 400 m, 17% above 400 m
• Soils: older sandstone and sandy-loam in the centre and west; younger Marne di Sant'Agata with gypsum veins and silty-loam in the east
• Slopes: of more than 10,000 ha registered, 25% exceed a 30% gradient; valley-floor and flat sites are excluded

The non-rosato types must come from at least 97% Moscato Bianco, with the remaining 3% from aromatic white varieties suited to Piedmont, though in practice most Asti wines are single-varietal. Moscato Bianco is Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. The grape juice is kept at zero degrees until spumantisation, alcoholic fermentation then starts at controlled temperature with selected yeasts, and once the desired alcohol and residual sugar are reached, the fermentation is stopped by cooling and the yeast is removed by centrifugation or filtration. The sparkling stage follows either the Martinotti method, in large vessels that hold the pressure, or the metodo classico, in bottle, and the lot for autoclave Asti must come from wines or musts that meet the production rules. The autoclave process for Asti cannot last less than one month including bottle ageing, and producers may print 'metodo Martinotti' on the label. Asti Metodo Classico must be made by natural fermentation in bottle, with at least nine months in the same winery, uninterrupted on the lees, before disgorgement. Grape yield is capped at 10 t/ha and the grape-to-wine yield at 75%, new plantings need at least 4,000 vines per hectare, and refrigeration may be used to spread fermentations across the year. Winemaking, maturation, ageing and bottling must take place in the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo or in Pessione, a frazione of Chieri, though the competent Ministry may allow the same operations in plants in the province of Milan or the rest of the province of Turin, provided the firms were already producing Moscato d'Asti and Asti spumante or Asti for at least 10 years before DPR no. 930 of 12 July 1963 came into force. Gancia makes its Asti DOCG by soft pressing with the must split into three fractions, of which only the fiore is used, and keeps the must cold until the presa di spuma (the sparkling fermentation); the wine is made by the Martinotti method and has 7.5% vol and 89 g/l of residual sugar.

• Grapes: at least 97% Moscato Bianco for the non-rosato types; up to 3% other aromatic white varieties suited to Piedmont
• Asti process: fermentation is stopped by cooling and the yeast removed by centrifugation or filtration; the sparkling stage follows the Martinotti method (large pressure-holding vessels) or the metodo classico (in bottle); autoclave Asti takes at least one month in process, including bottle ageing
• Asti Metodo Classico: natural fermentation in bottle, at least nine months on the lees, then disgorgement
• Yields: 10 t/ha of grapes; 75% grape-to-wine; new plantings at least 4,000 vines/ha

Gancia, founded in 1850 and based in Canelli since 1866, still makes an Asti DOCG by the Martinotti method, and the company returned fully to Italian capital control in 2025. Martini & Rossi was co-founded in 1863, with the herbalist Luigi Rossi among its founders, and its Martini Asti DOCG is made from Moscato Bianco. Decanter's James Button (2021) called Martini 'The most famous Asti brand' and credited this to marketing, particularly in the 1980s. Fontanafredda, in Serralunga d'Alba, dates to 1858 and farms 120 hectares of organic crops, and its Asti was among the wines in Button's 2021 Decanter tasting. In Castiglione Tinella, the Saracco family has made Moscato since the early 1900s; it sold wine to Asti Spumante producers between 1950 and 1988, when Paolo Saracco began bottling Moscato under his own label.

• Gancia: founded 1850 in Chivasso; in Canelli since 1866; makes an Asti DOCG by the Martinotti method
• Martini & Rossi: co-founded 1863; Martini Asti DOCG from Moscato Bianco; Decanter (2021) called it 'The most famous Asti brand'
• Paolo Saracco: Castiglione Tinella; own-label bottling since 1988

The Asti DOCG comprises Asti (or Asti Spumante), Asti Metodo Classico, rosato or rosé versions of both, Moscato d'Asti and Moscato d'Asti Vendemmia Tardiva, with the subzones Santa Vittoria d'Alba and Strevi governed by annexes; the production rules were last amended by decree of 13 March 2026. At release, Asti must show a fine, persistent mousse, at least 11.50% vol total alcohol of which at least 6.00% vol actual, and at least 4.5 g/l total acidity, in styles from pas dosé to dolce. Asti spumante falls in the EU category of quality aromatic sparkling wine, which EU rules require to have an excess pressure of at least 3 bar at 20°C in closed containers. Asti Metodo Classico needs at least 12.00% vol total alcohol, with at least 6.00% vol actual, and 6.0 g/l acidity. The rosato types blend 70% to 90% Moscato Bianco with 10% to 30% Brachetto, with Brachetto yields capped at 8 t/ha. Moscato d'Asti, made in the same zone from the same grape, must have between 4.50% and 6.50% vol actual alcohol and at least 11.00% vol total, and any overpressure from its fermentation carbon dioxide, measured at 20°C in closed containers, may not exceed 2.5 bar; the mushroom cork and wire cage are banned for it. Vintage labelling is compulsory for every type except the sparkling ones, and for Asti and Asti spumante, including metodo classico and rosato, sugar-level terms may not share a line with the denomination. The Canelli DOCG, Piedmont's 19th and Italy's 77th, makes white wines from Moscato Bianco only, adds a Riserva level released no sooner than 30 months of ageing, at least 20 of them in bottle, and remains under the Asti consorzio. The Consorzio dell'Asti puts the share of Asti production that is exported at 85%, in Decanter's 2021 account, with Germany, Russia and the US among key markets.

• Asti: at least 11.50% vol total, 6.00% vol actual; 4.5 g/l acidity; pas dosé to dolce; EU minimum for quality aromatic sparkling wine 3 bar at 20°C
• Moscato d'Asti: 4.50% to 6.50% vol actual; at least 11.00% vol total; no more than 2.5 bar at 20°C
• Rosato: 70% to 90% Moscato Bianco with 10% to 30% Brachetto; Canelli DOCG Riserva: at least 30 months, 20 in bottle

Primary sources (MASAF disciplinare, EU legislation and register, the Consorzio's own site, and producers' own sites for their own facts): https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F8%252F6%252FD.78fdbd09a0007a2699ad/P/BLOB%3AID%3D24256/E/pdf?mode=download, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R1327, https://www.gancia.it/casa-gancia/storia/, https://www.gancia.it/i-prodotti-gancia/spumanti/spumanti-metodo-charmat/asti-docg/, https://www.martini.com/our-heritage/, https://www.martini.com/products/martini-asti/, https://paolosaracco.it/en/winery, https://www.fontanafredda.it/en/, https://astidocg.it/vini/asti-spumante-docg/, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02013R1308-20260818, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:C_202407280, https://astidocg.it/wp-content/uploads/Disciplinare-Canelli.pdf. Secondary sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/asti-docg/, https://italianwinecentral.com/canelli-docg-spins-off-from-asti-docg/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/asti-and-moscato-dasti-experts-choice-462890/. Last verified 2026-11-09