The month of September provides the opportunity of tasting a gem of the Italian wine culture in the pleasant landscape of the Sass de Lüna Contrade and of attending the Palio del Moscato.
September is the perfect month for Moscato di Scanzo, it provides the opportunity of tasting the gem of the Bergamo wine culture and of meeting producers, visiting cellars and the pleasant landscape of Sass de Lüna Contrade during a great festival, in which cultural events, shows and playful moments are held.
The Moscato festival represents a central event inside the Bergamo wine world.
Moscato di Scanzo is an intense ruby red wine with a smooth and aromatic taste, that is produced in the smallest Italian DOCG – Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin- (only 31 hectares) with dried grapes deriving from Moscato grape variety.
Every year, the streets of Scanzorosciate fill up with wine enthusiasts and sector operators, that are attracted not only by the excellent wine here produced, but also by the fascination of a territory in which the wine activity has certainly begun during the Roman times. The fame of the festival has gone beyond national borders and the latest editions have registered more than 40.000 visitors in four days.
The charm of Sass de Lüna Contrade.
Scanzorosciate is nestled in a landscape dominated by hills that are dedicated to winemaking and dotted with small villages, villas and farmhouses that testify an ancient history, as, for example, the hamlet Tribulina with its hollow full of vineyards or Monte Bastia, that rises up on the city-centre, showing woody slopes interrupted by Moscato rows.
Here and there, from the green mantle, Sass de Lüna crops out [Moon Stone]. The unique Moscato di Scanzo scents derive from this pale calcareous marl that, when it is repeatedly exposed to the sun, it loses the original grey-light-bluish reflections and crumbles, allowing the vine roots to go deeper.
The origins of the Moscato di Scanzo Festival.
In 2004, the Municipality, the producers and several local accommodation facilities founded the Association Strada del Moscato di Scanzo e dei sapori scanzesi aiming at promoting the richness of this fascinating wine microcosm.
The Association, in collaboration with the Consorzio Tutela Moscato di Scanzo, Consortium for the Protection of Moscato di Scanzo), yearly organises a series of events that last circa 4-5 days: tastings in the cellars, themed menus in typical restaurants, food and wine tours (bike tours and trekking), cultural and playful moments.
Il Palio del Moscato
The festival’s highlight is the Palio del Moscato, that stages ancient customs and popular traditions of the community and it is divided in three main moments: the Dinner through the streets of the historic village (beloved also by children) where characters from the past come alive again, like the Captain, the Magistrates and the Knights of Moscato; the Parade that crosses the hamlets; the proper Palio where the different Contrade defy each other in a grape-stomping competition.
© Mete di Arioli