Canelli, where Italian sparkling wine and Asti were created, to become DOCG

In the second half of the 19th century, Carlo Gancia invented the Italian sparkling wine, and gave birth to that sweet sparkling wine phenomenon, Asti, in the “underground cathedrals” of Canelli, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Canelli, a sub-area of ​​Asti and Moscato d’Asti DOCG, will soon become a real DOCG in its own right, which is precisely what the amendment to the procedural guidelines provides. Just recently, the Wines Committee approved the amendment, giving the green light to “a regulatory process ending within the year, meaning that the first official grape harvest of Moscato Bianco for “Canelli” will be in 2022”, explained a joint note from the Asti DOCG Protection Consortium and the Canelli Producers Association. The path they are following is similar to the one that in the past led to Nizza DOCG, the top quality of Barbera d’Asti. The procedure, in fact, provides that following the publication of the new “Canelli” specifications in the Official Gazette journal, which is the official authorization, the European Union then has to definitively approve the new DOCG, which will actually establish its protection. At the moment, there are over 40 companies in the Asti DOCG denomination that claim their Moscato d’Asti DOCG as the Canelli sub-area, for over half a million bottles. “The new Denomination certainly represents a further opportunity for quality growth for wine producers in a historic area such as Canelli”, commented Lorenzo Barbero, president of the Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti DOCG Consortium.