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Masi launches "world's first" sparkling appassimento wine in to UK's booming sparkling category

Published:  06 May, 2016

Masi Agricola is looking to grab a slice of the pie in the UK's sparkling market - which is set to become the world's largest by 2020.

Masi Agricola is looking to grab a slice of the pie in the UK's sparkling market - which is set to become the world's largest by 2020.

Moxxé, a blend of Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo, is aiming to reflect the fruitiness of Italian Prosecco, but with less sweetness and more structure.

Internationally, the world has seen steady incremental growth in the sparkling category, but in the UK, growth has been explosive.

According to figures from the IWSR, the sparkling category is set to grow +£3.3m from 2014 to 2020 in the UK, with Germany in second place with +£3.1m.

In the UK, this growth is almost solely down to the emergence of Prosecco as the occasion drink of choice, while in Germany is it down to locally-produced wines.

Raffaele Boscaini, technical director at leading Amarone producer Masi Agricola, said that while the drink is not a direct rival to Prosecco, Moxxé is set to go after the UK's sparkling market.

He said: "The purpose with Moxxé was to create an easy-drinking, pleasant wine with light bubbles which can be drunk at special occasions or in a relaxed setting. But the wine has its own personality which is distinct from Prosecco."

MoxxéMoxxé

According to Boscaini, Moxxé is the first of its kind.

Asked why producers haven't attempted to sparkle an Amarone wine before, he said it is down to demand and being prepared to move away from tradition.

"We're following trends of the market, but it our own way," he said. "Producers look at the normal way of wine-making, but we want to play with what tradition gave us."

Amerone wines are wines that have undergone the appassimento process, when the grapes are dried so that they lose between 35 and 45% per cent of water to produce a dry wine.

Moxxé uses the Charmat method.

Moxxé sits within the Masi Campofiorin range of wines and is being released to the UK trade by Berkmann Wine Cellars from the beginning of May.

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