Category Archives: Panattone

November 24, 2023 · 2:26 am

A Classic Italian Combination: Asti Spumante and Panettone.

Bread and butter, wine and cheese:  some things are just meant to go together.  Asti Spumante and Panettone belong on that list of perfect combinations.

Asti Spumante DOCG and Moscato d’Asti DOCG come from the Moscato Bianco (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) strain of grapes.  It is one of the oldest known varieties of wine grapes and grows in the Piedmont regions of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. The zone is located between the Ligurian Coast and the Alps.

Moscato d’Asti is made from the same grape as Asti Spumante and has many of the same flavors and aromas. It is also low in alcohol, around 5% by volume. The difference is that Moscato d’Asti is only slightly sparkling (frizzante) and it is vintage dated, while Asti Spumante is not dated and is considered a Spumante. Moscato d’Asti should be drunk as close to the vintage date as possible. The two wines share the same DOCG.

For Asti Spumante the grapes are refrigerated at zero degrees until they reach a second fermentation, a process that can be accomplished either according to the “Martinotti Method” or  the complex “Classico Method.” Recently, the range of residual sugars has been expanded from traditional sweet to extra dry, from brut to pas dosé. Asti Spumante is known world wide as a sparkling wine to be drunk every time there is a reason to celebrate.

For Moscato d’Asti, there is a gentle pressing of the grape bunches by a pneumatic press. The must is clarified in order to eliminate the solid residue and any other undesired components it may contain. Alcoholic fermentation takes place through the addition of select yeasts at a controlled temperature.  The limpid and cooled must is poured into large tanks and repeatedly filtered to prevent spontaneous fermentation. Moscato d’Asti does not go through a second fermentation in the bottle.  Instead, the second fermentation is performed in a single tank (autoclave) using the Martinotti method, in which bubbles are trapped in the wine via carbonation in the tank. Yeasts are eliminated by filtration or centrifugation. The wine is then kept in cooling tanks at about -3C so that fermentation does not start.  At the time of bottling, the temperature is raised until fermentation begins.  It is stopped at about 5% alcohol. Fermentation can be stopped and then started so that the wine can be bottled several times a year. This aromatic wine should be enjoyed young when it is at its freshest.

Both Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante have aromas of apricot, pear, peach, honeysuckle, mandarin orange, jasmine and white flowers.

I was able to taste and enjoy both wines along with traditional Panettone from Brooklyn’s own Settepani Bakery.

Panettone is a sweet Italian traditional Christmas cake. It comes in many different varieties and can contain raisins, nuts, chocolate, candied citrus and other fruits, and more.  Some are iced while others are glazed or topped with sugar crystals,

Chef Bilena Settepani from Settepani supplied the Panettone

We were served slices of three different varieties of panettone and I enjoyed them all.

Here are just a few of the wines I tasted:  

Balbi Soprani Asti Dolce

Caudrina La Salvatica Asti (Label by the late legendary grappa producer Romano Levi)

Ceretto I Vignaioli di San Stefano Moscato d’Asti

Bava Bass Tuba Moscato d’Asti

Braida (Giacomo Bologna) “Vigna Senza Nome” Moscato D’ Asti

Panettone with Asti Spumante or Moscato d’Asti is the perfect way to entertain guests this holiday season.

1 Comment

Filed under Asti, Asti Spumante, Moscato d'Asti, Panattone, Uncategorized

September 22, 2023 · 1:59 am

Perfect Panettone

by Michele Scicolone

The secrets of making perfect Panettone, Italy’s traditional Christmas cake, were revealed at a masterclass Charles and I attended, organized by Molino Dallagiovanna, a family-owned and operated flour company in Piacenza, Italy.

Sally Fischer of Sally Fischer Public Relations had invited us to the event which took place at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in lower Manhattan.  Fabio Del Sorbo, Molino Dallagiovanna’s technician, was our instructor along with Biagio Settepani, the renowned pastry chef, who translated and added commentary of his own.  The two stressed the importance of using the right type of flour, preferably Molino Dallagiovanna’s Panettone Flour, which is high in protein and finely milled to produce the optimum panettone.

Fabio showed us how he prepares and maintains the lievito madre, a stiff type of sourdough starter crafted to contain low acidity, create the right texture, and add flavor to his panettone.  He stressed the importance of wrapping the prepared starter first in plastic, then in burlap, and tying it securely with string into a neat bundle.  This is very important to prevent  the starter from exploding as it ferments.  All of the participants received a portion of the Fabio’s lievito madre to experiment with in their own kitchens.  I put ours in a safe place far from anything fragile.

In addition to the right flour and the right starter, other elements to consider when making panettone are the type and amount of sweeteners, flavorings, and additions, such as dried fruits and nuts.  Temperature and humidity also play a role in making good panettone.  As Maestro Giuseppe Piffaretti, who is the leader of the Panettone World Cup, pointed out, “there is no one recipe” for making panettone.  Every chef creates his own.

The class ended with a tasting of Fabio’s panettone.  It was a work of art — tender, moist and full of fresh flavor.  Just the thing to enjoy with a cup of cappuccino or a glass of sparkling Moscato.

The masterclass was part of a two day program of events culminating in the selection of the finalists who will represent the United States and Canada at the Panettone World Cup to be held on November 8 and 9, 2024 in Milan, Italy, where they will compete for the top chef title in the Traditional Panettone and Chocolate categories.

For more information about Molino Dallagiovanna, contact sfpr@sallyfischerpr.com.

For info about the Coppa del Mondo, contact stampa@coppadelmondodelpanettone.ch.

2 Comments

Filed under Panattone