For too many years in Italy bottles of Champagne or Classic Method Brut or Extra-Brut sparkling wine have been uncorked on the occasion of the Christmas holidays to accompany Panettone or Pandoro. Nothing more wrong. A real contradiction in terms of matching. The sweet taste of leavened products clashed with the acidity of the wines, creating a real unpleasant shock to the poor taste buds. This barbaric custom sounded even more out of tune in our dear peninsula, the historical cradle of some of the best sweet sparkling wines in the world, true excellence of our enology and too often forgotten. The pairing theory suggests combining sweets by concordance with sweet wines, indeed slightly sweeter than the dessert you are tasting. Only by accompanying sweetness with other sweetness can we fully appreciate it and enjoy a harmonious sensation on the palate. It will be that touch of subtle freshness, due to the acid and savory vein of the sparkling wine, to give us the pleasant sensation of cleanliness on the palate and make us slightly salivary, so as to desire another bite of dessert.

Leave the glamorous suggestions of Champagne without regret, unless it is a very rare Demi-Sec, rediscover the sweet sparkling wines of our tradition, all perfect to combine with leavened desserts, such as Panettone, Pandoro, Colomba and many cakes or desserts. The most important sweet sparkling wine of our tradition is Moscato d'Asti , produced with the Martinotti or Charmat Method both in the sparkling version and in the sparkling version with a satin cap. Its delicate sweetness, its orange blossom scents, its fragrant aromas of citrus, peach and white-fleshed fruit are the quintessence of elegance. Always to remain in the large family of Muscat grapes, we also mention the Sparkling Orange Flowers, typical of the Padua area of the Euganean Hills. It is produced with the homonymous grape variety, which comes from the cross between the white muscat and the chasselas. Still in the same geographical area there is Moscato Giallo Spumante, a grape variety born from the progenitor of white muscat, with which it shares many characteristics. We remain in Veneto to enjoy another excellence of the world of sweet sparkling wines: Prosecco Superiore Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG in the Dry version. Cartizze Dry is particularly recommended, true excellence in absolute terms among sweet sparkling wines produced with the Martinotti Method. For those who are looking for something unusual and particular, we recommend two sparkling wines produced with red berried grapes: the Brachetto d'Acqui Spumante , aromatic and floral, or the Vernaccia di Serrapetrona Spumante Dolce, produced with black vernaccia, a ancient red grape variety historically cultivated in the area of Serrapetrona, in the province of Macerata. They will be perfect to accompany desserts with red fruit and berry jams.