Moscato Vs Chardonnay
Last Updated on August 1st, 2023
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A battle between Moscato and Chardonnay won’t have a clear winner unless you have a strong preference between sweet and dry. They also have different alcohol contents, with Chardonnay sometimes boasting about twice the amount of alcohol as Moscato. Moscato is light-bodied, whereas Chardonnay is medium to heavy-bodied.
What Is Similar About Moscato And Chardonnay?
Both Chardonnay and Moscato wines are most often white. Pink or blush varieties of both exist. They can both be sweet if the winemaker chooses. In addition, both wines have gone through periods of intense popularity, which is usually followed by a period where people snub that wine because it’s overproduced. Moscato is currently very popular and might have the same fate as Chardonnay eventually, but the market bounces back. Both wines are often sparkling, but this doesn’t say much because any wine can be sparkling. However, they’re perhaps the most well-known sparkling wines, especially with the Chardonnay grape being one of the primary crops used to make Champagne.
What Is The Difference Between Moscato Vs. Chardonnay?
Moscato and Chardonnay are made from different grape varieties. Specifically, Moscato is made from Moscato grapes and is largely produced by Californian, Italian, and Australian wineries. The wineries that make Chardonnay are often Italian or French. The Moscato wines from California and Australia are usually very sweet. Chardonnay is made from the grape of the same name, of course, but it can be bone dry to sweet. It often leans toward the drier side, which means it usually has less residual sugar and fewer calories. The popularity of Chardonnay peaked in the 1980s, whereas Moscato is enjoying an enormous amount of popularity today.
The Chardonnay grape is often used in the production of Champagne, whereas this is not true for the Moscato grape. Champagne has more than one grape, however, so it is not always made from Chardonnay grapes. But when it is, these grapes are often not ripe because the areas it is grown in have fairly cold weather, which is not an ideal growing condition for grapes.
Which One Is Sweeter Or Drier Than The Other?
Both Chardonnay and Moscato wines can be quite sweet, but on average, Moscato is sweeter. Chardonnay tends to be on the drier side, whereas the popularity of today’s Moscato has encouraged wineries to produce sweeter and sweeter wines. Chardonnay is a more traditional wine that isn’t afraid to be bone dry, and therefore, it has less appeal to people who ordinarily don’t drink wine.
Which One Has More Alcohol Content?
Chardonnay has more alcohol content on average. Dry wines are known to have more alcohol, although this is not always true. But Moscato can have as little as 5% alcohol by volume (ABV). It isn’t too uncommon to see Moscatos around 10% ABV, but 12% to 15% is pushing it and approaching fortified wine territory. On the other hand, Chardonnay usually has at least 12% ABV without being fortified.
How Do I Choose Between Moscato And Chardonnay?
If you’re looking for a sweet wine with less alcohol, pick a Moscato. If you’re looking for something drier, Chardonnay is a good choice. Moscato is hardly a new wine, but its sales have gone up by more than 70 percent in recent years. Chardonnay is more of a classic wine.
Summary
Moscato and Chardonnay are both white or pink wines, but the latter is normally quite dry with more alcohol. For budding wine enthusiasts, Moscato is a safe choice to start with because it is sweet and less alcohol forward. However, Chardonnay has its place, especially for anyone who wants to try a bolder, classic wine.
