Avié

LABEL
The outlines of a woman's hand screen-printed in gold on an Avié bottle symbolise the manual skills applied in all the delicate operations needed to produce this wine: harvesting and selection of the ripest bunches of grapes, their passerillage (semi-drying) and pressing.

NAME
In the Asti dialect, the word "avié" means "vigil". As such it evokes the long winter evenings the farmers once whiled away in the warmth of their stables talking of the past and entrancing their children with fairy tales.

VINE
Piedmont's white Muscat grapes, known since Roman times, are grown on very well exposed hillsides. About 5000 vines per hectare produce a maximum of 6 tonnes of grapes. Semi-drying results in a drastic reduction in their yield to 2500-3000 liters.

HARVESTING
The grapes are picked by hand in the middle of September, selected and immediately placed in small trays for semi-drying in special air-conditioned, well-ventilated rooms. The duration of this process is determined by the weather and thus varies from one year to another.

VINIFICATION
Crushing and soft pressing provide a rich, dense must that is left to ferment for more than eight months in new Allier oak barriques. This long contact with the lees and frequent "bâtonages" contribute to the development and enhancement of its highly typical character.

REFINEMENT AND STORAGE
The wine remains in bottle for at least a year and is placed on the market in the second year after the harvest. Its generosity and complex composition enable it to be kept for many years if stored in places maintained at a constant temperature of13-15°C.

ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS
Deep straw yellow colour, with a sheen turning to gold after many years' maturing in bottle.
Strong, fragrant bouquet with aromatic overtones of ripe grapes, dried apricots, aromatic herbs, bananas, honey and yellow flowers.
Its warm, generous taste and delicate, soft flavour combine with its pleasant acid freshness, balance and lingering aroma to endow this rare dessert wine with a smooth, opulent finish.

ALCOHOLIC CONTENT
13-14% by volume.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS AND ACCOMPANIMENTS
Best served in small glasses at 12°C.
Its hint of sweetness adds a touch of delicacy to blue and other veined cheeses, ripe goat's milk cheeses, pâté de foie gras and liver and game pâtés. Just right for all types of dessert and petits fours, but above all a great wine to drink in meditation.