One of the best grape varieties from Puglia is Moscatello Selvatico.
This cultivar is one of those chosen by Cantina di Ruvo di Puglia: in fact there are 5 native vines bred and selected for making Crifo wines. These are some of the most important grape varieties of Puglia. We are talking about Nero di Troia, Bombino Bianco, Bombino Nero, Moscatello Selvatico, Pampanuto (or Verdeca), grown a few kilometers from Castel del Monte, from which Ruvo di Puglia Winery produces the wines of its most renowned labels.
Moscatello Selvatico is one of the most interesting varieties cultivated in the area. According to many scholars, including Acerbi in 1825, Rovasenda in 1877, Molon in 1906 and Dalmasso in 1964, it belongs to the large family of Moscati, of which it has the typical aromaticity.
Moscatello Selvatico is cultivated in Puglia between the Murge and the Bari Basin since the Paleolithic period.
The vine has a medium-small leaf, orbicular, tri or pentalobate; clusters are medium-sized, with conical-cylindrical shape; medium-large berries, bright green skin and good consistency.
It is a distinctly sweet aromatic grape. The resulting wine has a straw-yellow color, illuminated by golden reflections, fragrant and musky scents. On the nose are recognizable hints of candied orange, chamomile, renette apples and cotton candy, on an aromatic herbaceous carpet. The taste is fresh, delicate and typically aromatic with a rich finish of citrus and delicate orange blossoms.
The Crifo “Bellagriffi” Moscatello Selvatico Puglia IGP is a perfect example, the result of the cultivation of the authorized Apulian vine with traditional methods and high-tech winemaking, awarded with the golden medal at the last edition of the Gilbert & Gaillard International Competition and included in the Ais Puglia, Associazione Italiana Sommelier, selection.
A delicate and pleasantly aromatic wine, made from the late harvest of this vine is Moscatello Selvatico Vendemmia Tardiva Puglia IGP. The most healthy and ripe grapes are left to dry in the vineyard for a few weeks to obtain a sweet and fragrant wine, which perfectly pairs with dessert at the end of the meal.