Harvest in Piemonte has arrived and this means that Moscato is first in line! It is an “aromatic” grape, meaning that the aromas are exactly the same taste that you get from eating it straight off the vine. I actually ate some the other night and recognized it right away! (not such a good sign that I am more familiar firstly with the wine and secondly with the grape?)

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Anyway, to kick off the season, today we made Zabaione al Moscato with some visitors. It is a very simple recipe but the whipping of the egg yolks is a critical step! Our cook whipped for 30 minutes by hand last week until her arm fell off so this time we went “modern” and used the electric beater. Obviously we used free range eggs, raw sugar, and one espresso cup of local Moscato D’Asti to make a light and fragrant zabaione for our homemade hazelnut cake.

You can finally feel that summer has ended which means letting go of the days at the swimming pool, eating strawberries and sipping refreshing moscato. At least now we are ready for meals around a wood burning stove, porcinis and truffles and hazelnut goodies paired with this cheerful wine instead. Viva la vendemmia and viva Moscato!