- Last Updated on May 31, 2023
This is our comparison of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato. We’ve extensively researched these two popular wines to help you pick the best for you.
Pinot Grigio is a very popular white wine, and on top of it it’s affordable too. 🤩
Pinot Grigio, in its dry version, is light, refreshing, and crisp. Lemon and apples are typical aromas.
Its French version, Pinot Gris, has more complexity, a different structure, and pairs well with bolder flavors dishes.
Moscato is instead a sweet light bubbly sweet wine with typical notes of ripe pear, lemon and honeysuckle.
Find below our wine guide on the most important differences between these two great wines.
Our recommendation for Best Value Pinot Grigio is Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio and for Best Overall is Vie di Romans Dessimis Pinot Grigio 2020.
Our recommendation for Best Value Moscato d’Asti is Stella Rosa Moscato d’Asti and for Best Overall is Ruffino Moscato d’Asti.
You’ll find below our recommendation for you. Let’s begin with the review!
Wine Selection Overview
Find below our Pinot Grigio vs Moscato wine selection for you where you’ll find our recommendation for you.
Pinot Grigio Selection
Campagnola Pinot Grigio 2021
The three things that make this wine the best budget are:
1) It’s a bright and fruity flavor profile that makes it a refreshing and easy-drinking wine.
2) It’s the perfect everyday white that delivers every time.
3) It costs ~$8 which is unbelievable for the quality you get.
Try it with a variety of light dishes, such as salads, grilled seafood, and white meat.
Read our full review here.
Italo Cescon
Pinot Grigio
The three things that make this wine the best value are:
1) It’s a vibrant and intense flavor profile characterized by its bright acidity and notes of peach, citrus, and white flowers, which makes it stand out from other Pinot Grigio.
2) It’s a versatile wine, so you can pair it with various dishes compared to the majority of Pinot Grigio in this price range.
3) It’s a good quality-price ratio. For ~ $18 you get an high quality Pinot Grigio for a very reasonable price.
It’s the perfect summer wine to enjoy with appetizers, such as bruschetta or antipasti platters.
Read our full review here.
Vie di Romans - Dessimis Pinot Grigio 2020
There are at least three things that make this wine the best overall:
1) Terroir: the soil composition, climate, and altitude of this area can contribute to the wine’s distinct flavor profile and character.
2) Winemaking techniques: Gianfranco Gallo uses a combination of traditional and modern winemaking techniques, which can impart additional complexity and texture to the wine.
3) Aging potential: while Pinot Grigio is often considered a wine that should be consumed young and fresh, this wine has the potential to age well up to 18 years adding more complexity and depth over time.
If you’re looking for a wine to impress at your next dinner party or to savor on a special occasion, go for it.
Read our full review here.
Moscato Selection
Barefoot
Moscato
The three things that make this wine the best budget are:
1) It’s fruity and sweet with a low alcohol content, so it’ll be super easy to drink if you like sweet wine.
2) It’s perfect for an apero or dessert.
3) It costs ~$7 which is a good value for the quality you get.
Try it with classic appetizers like salami, figs and melon or with spicy food like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
Read our full review here.
Stella Rosa Moscato d'Asti
The three things that make this wine the best value are:
1) It’s fruity, sweet and with a crisp acidity. All in all it’ll be a better sensorial experience than the Barefoot Moscato.
2) It’s more versatile than Barefoot as you can dare pair it with clams on top of the classic pairing options.
3) It costs ~$13 which is a good value for the quality you get.
Try it with salami, goat cheese ravioli, Indian dishes, Parmigiano, or clams.
Read our full review here.
Ruffino Moscato
d'Asti
There are at least three things that make this wine the best overall:
1) This is probably one of the best Moscato d’Asti you can find at this price, i.e. $15.
2) It’s more elegant and refined than the other two bottles, which means you’l experince its delicacy.
3) It has more layers of complexity, which means that aromas and flavours will develop as you drink give you a more rounded experience.
Try it with charcutrie board, Parmiggiano Reggiano, Cheddar, or light desserts.
Read our full review here.
Comparison
Let’s now take a closer look at the difference between Pinot Grigio vs Moscato so that you’ll have enough details to make an informed decision.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: Where are they produced?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from regions and wine styles points of view.
Regions and winemaking techniques influence the taste profiles of both wines. The typical taste profiles depending on the region, for Pinot Grigio vs Moscato, are as follows:
Cool climates help Pinot Grigio grow at its best and mature relatively early causing high sugar levels.Â
Depending on the vinification style, this can lead to either a wine high in alcohol if fermented to dryness, or a sweeter wine.
Minerally and Dry Pinot Grigio is primarily from the northern part of Italy and precisely Lombardia, Trentino Alto Adige, and Veneto.
Fruity and Dry Prinot Grigio is primarily from Italy (north-east Italy, Toscana, Abruzzo, and Sicilia, USA (California, Oregon, and Washington), and New Zealand.
Fruity and Sweet Pinot Gris is primarily from Alsace in France.Â
Read this article do find more about Pinot Grigio.
Moscato, in its most famous dessert wine style, i.e. Moscato d’Asti DOCG, is primarily produced in the northern-west part of Italy in the Piemonte region.
Other styles of Moscato, like dry and fortified wine are produced in other part of Italy and California.
Read this article do find more about Moscato.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: Which grapes are used to produce them?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from a grape point of view.
Pinot Grigio is made with Pinot Grigio grapes.
For Moscato, Moscato Bianco or Muscat Blanc are the grapes used.
Both are is a white-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: What's their alcohol content?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from an alcohol content point of view.
Alcohol content or more precisely Alcohol By Volume, i.e. ABV, measures the alcoholic strength of a drink.
There is a direct relationship between the sugar left in the wine after the alcoholic fermentation has taken place, i.e. Residual Sugar or RS, and ABV.
During the alcoholic fermentation, the yeast transforms the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol.
Grapes with high residual sugar will therefore produce dry wine with a high ABV.
Moscato’s ABV is usually 5%, whereas Pinot Grigio’s ABV ranges between 10% to 14% depending on the style.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: What's their taste profile?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from a taste profile point of view.
Pinot Grigio (minerally and fruity style) it’s known for its dryness, high acidity, light-body, lemon, and apple notes.Â
Pinot Gris (Alsace) on the other hand has more body, lower acidity, more complexity, and is sweeter.
Here is a brief overview of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris typical flavors:
- Pinot Grigio Minerally and Dry: apple, lemon zest, mineral.
- Pinot Grigio Fruity and Dry: apple, lemon, white peach, pear, creamy.
- Pinot Gris Fruity and Sweet: sweet lemon candy, honey, ginger, spice, ripe pear.
Moscato in its dessert style, is sweet with notes of ripe pear, lemon and honeysuckle.Â
Expect medium-low acidity, light-body, light bubbles (2.5 bar), and an ABV of 5.5%.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: Are they sweet or dry?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato in terms of sweetness level or residual sugar.
The sweetness level of a wine is expressed in grams of sugar per liter, aka g/L, or as a percentage.
10 g/L equals 1% which, if you are interested, represents 6 calories per 5 oz serving.Â
You can find Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris in various sweetness levels, that goes from dry to sweet.
A dry wine will have less than 15 g/l for example.
Moscato, on the other side can be found in both dry and sweet version. The most popular style is the dessert wine which has more than 50+ g/l.
A dry Moscato will have less than 15 g/l.
Read this article to know more about wine sweetness level.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: Which are the recommended food pairings?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from a food pairings point of view.
Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris pairings depend on the style.Â
Pinot Grigio goes well with salad and salty foods like french fries and salty olives. Chicken, shellfish, and grilled fish are common pairings.Â
Cheese wise go with soft (Philadelphia) and creamy (Brie) cheese for the minerally version. Semi-soft (Fontina) and firm (Beaufort) for the fruity version.
Pinot Gris pairs well with stronger flavors like foie gras, cream sources, grilled vegetables, reach veal, pork, and meaty fish.
Cheese wise go for blue mold and hard cheese like Gorgonzola and Pecorino.Â
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: How should you serve and store them?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato in terms of serving and storing the wine.
Pinot Grigio shouldn’t be decanted. The service temperature and the storing period depend on the style.
For Minerally and Fruity Pinot Grigio serve at 45 – 50 °F (7 – 10 °C) in a Pinot Grigio or Viognier glass.[1]
The recommended storing period is 2-3 years for normal bottles.
For Pinot Gris off-dry serve at 45 – 50 °F (7 – 10 °C) in a Pinot Grigio or Viognier glass. For Pinot Gris, sweet serve at 43 – 56 °F (6 – 8 °C) in a Fortified glass.Â
Moscato doesn’t need to be decanted. Serve it at 43 – 46 °F (6 – 8 °C) in a flûte or Viognier glass.Â
The recommended storage period is up to 1.5 years.
Pinot Grigio vs Moscato: How much do they cost?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Pinot Grigio vs Moscato from a price comparison point of view.
Pinot Grigio is an affordable wine. The price generally ranges from $10 – $30. Where $10 is usually the IGT Italian style and $30 the Alsatian style.
For Moscato dessert wine expect to pay between $10 – $20.
Our Verdict
If you have been through the guide, by now you are a Pinot Grigio vs Moscato expert!
Both Pinot Grigio and Moscato are great wines and you should now have a good idea of what to expect from them.  Â
Our recommendation is therefore based on what you’d fancy the most at a particular given moment or event.Â
Pinot Grigio is usually a good choice for a hot summer day since it’s refreshing, very light, and easy to drink.
Pinot Gris offers more complexity instead, and can be paired with bolder flavors like grilled meat or fish. It’s therefore a more all-year-round wine in a sense.
Our recommendation for Best Value Pinot Grigio is Italo Cescon Pinot Grigio and for Best Overall is Vie di Romans Dessimis Pinot Grigio 2020.
Our recommendation for Best Value Moscato d’Asti is Stella Rosa Moscato d’Asti and for Best Overall is Ruffino Moscato d’Asti.
As always make sure to serve them at the right temperature to enjoy them at their best.
