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Braida, Vigna Senza Nome Moscato d'Asti 2018
WhiteItaly2018
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-02-26 · Published 2026-09-23 · Updated 2026-09-23
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — the same as Vivino's 4.0 average · world avg price US$30 · Braida, founded in 1961 by Giacomo Bologna — the same house that broke Barbera's reputation as a "cheap wine" by aging it in new French oak in 1982 — also put a Latin motto on the label of a Moscato vineyard it simply called "the nameless vineyard." Vivino: 390 ratings averaging 4.0.
No critic scores are listed on Vivino.
Market note: A recent vintage (2023) retails in Europe for around €12 (bottleofitaly.com, checked Sept 2026, discounted price). Moscato d'Asti isn't meant to age — best consumed within one to two years of bottling.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“…나는 저번에 땄던 세냐를 마시며 … 마무리로 나도 모스카토 한잔 했는데 깔끔한 디저트는 이것 만한게 없는것 같다. 올해 여름에는 더 맛있겠지.”
Show original
“honey orange blossom pear jasmine stone nectarine lychee gasoline […] 나는 저번에 땄던 세냐를 마시며 […]~~ 마무리로 나도 모스카토 한잔 했는데 깔끔한 디져트는 이것 만한게 없는것 같다~~ 올해여름에는 더 맛있겠지^^”
What I learned today: the last glass of the night can be a kindness to someone.
The bar is closed on Sundays, so on Sundays I turn the pages of Father's notebook at home. Today I was looking for the glass Master Seo poured me last night just before closing, the one he called "to finish". Braida Vigna Senza Nome Moscato d'Asti.
Last night's glass gave peach and pear, flowers, honey. In front of that small glass with its slow bubbles, I went back to a late-winter kitchen when I was twenty-one, just before spring, rain beading on the window. After dinner Father held out a small glass and said, "To finish." I didn't know the bottle's name then, and I don't now.
In the notebook, Father was writing about Mom. One beer and she's done, so he'd offer her Moscato instead. And this line: "Nothing beats this for a clean dessert." From what Master Seo told me yesterday, this wine is low in alcohol, gently sparkling, sweet but fresh. Father must have known that when he poured it for her.
My phone buzzed. Minjae. Outside, a quiet Sunday afternoon. What I learned today: the last glass of the night can be a kindness to someone.
What this wine is
Giacomo Bologna founded Braida in Rocchetta Tanaro, in the Monferrato hills, in 1961. Barbera was, at the time, considered Piedmont's everyday drinking grape, always in the shadow of Nebbiolo's Barolo and Barbaresco. Bologna set out to change that — cutting yields drastically, selecting the best crus, and aging the wine in new French barriques, a treatment Barbera had never received before. The result, released in 1982, was Bricco dell'Uccellone: the first Barbera ever exported internationally. Jancis Robinson later called Bologna "the man who first put Barbera on a pedestal, proving that it was a serious wine." In 2019, Bricco dell'Uccellone became the first Piedmont wine inducted into the world hall-of-fame award "Wein Legende" — proof that the "Barbera revolution" Bologna started has held for more than forty years.
Bologna didn't stop at red wine. In 1990 he bought a hillside vineyard in the village of Mango, in Asti, and put on the label the ancient Roman palindrome "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas" ("the farmer at the plow directs the work"). The vineyard itself was left without a proper name — simply "Vigna Senza Nome," the nameless vineyard. The capital G on the label, Braida explains, marks a three-generation handoff of the family trade — from Giovanni to Giacomo, and back again to a Giacomo (his grandson Giuseppe's family nickname). The vineyard's 100% Moscato Bianco is harvested and given a few hours of skin contact in a horizontal press, then partially fermented at low temperature in autoclave for about twenty days — a process that preserves natural sweetness and keeps the alcohol low, at 5.5%.
Giacomo Bologna died in 1990. Since 1994, his son Giuseppe — who inherited the family nickname "Giacomo" — has run production and carried the house forward to today.
What the world says
This 2018 vintage has 390 Vivino ratings averaging 4.0 — exactly matching the wine's overall average across 3,810 ratings. No critic scores are on file.
The flavor keywords lead with stone fruit — peach, pear, apple, apricot (204 mentions) — followed by a floral group of elderflower, orange blossom and jasmine (89), then honey (75) and citrus (68). Structure: acidity 2.8/5, fizziness 1.2, intensity 2.5 — the light, fresh profile typical of Moscato d'Asti.
"This Moscato has a really nice sugar-acidity balance. Honey, elderflower, lemon, orange blossom, lychee." — Vivino review, Jan 2021, 4.0 stars
"Best Moscato d'Asti I've had so far. Not as sweet as most. The gentle fizz and the restrained sweetness-acidity balance work beautifully together." — Vivino review, Jul 2021, 4.0 stars
Drinking window: 2018–2023. I drank mine in February 2020, early in that window.
How I drank it
26 February 2020, 4.0 stars. "Honey, orange blossom, pear, jasmine, stone, nectarine, lychee, gasoline... My wife hits her limit after one beer, so lately I've been recommending Moscato as a substitute. I was drinking the Seña I opened last time, together with my wife~~ and I closed the night with a glass of this Moscato — nothing beats it as a clean dessert~~ It'll probably taste even better this summer^^" It's clear from the note that four days earlier, on 22 February, we'd opened Seña — which I'd scored 4.5 — and reopened it that same night with my wife, closing the evening with this Moscato.
This note stands out in the magazine for mentioning a habit shared with my wife — she reaches her limit after a single beer, so I've taken to recommending Moscato as an alternative. Its low alcohol (5.5%) and light structure (acidity 2.8, fizziness 1.2) suit that role well. The "gasoline" keyword is unusual — it doesn't show up in Vivino's community data — likely my own way of catching the mineral, petrol-tinged edge that Moscato sometimes carries.
I gave it 4.0, matching the community average exactly. The closing line — "it'll probably taste even better this summer" — reads like someone who already knows Moscato d'Asti is best young and fresh: with a drinking window as short as this one (2018–2023), it's a sentence that's already looking ahead to the next vintage.
Where this wine shows up
Giacomo Bologna, founder of the same house that makes this Moscato, aged Barbera in new French barriques for the first time in 1982 with Bricco dell'Uccellone, turning a grape once dismissed as everyday drinking into a serious wine exported worldwide. Worth noting: it was a different wine from the same house (a red) that made history here, not this Moscato itself.
Braida official — 1982-2022: forty vintages of Bricco dell'Uccellone · Escapement Magazine — Giacomo Bologna Braida Bricco dell'Uccellone
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2018 vintage rating distribution (390 ratings, average 4.0)
| 5★ | 78 (20%) | |
| 4★ | 207 (53%) | |
| 3★ | 91 (23%) | |
| 2★ | 9 (2%) | |
| 1★ | 5 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Stone fruit | 204 | peach 55 · pear 47 · apple 31 · apricot 24 · melon 15 |
| Floral | 89 | elderflower 48 · orange blossom 16 · jasmine 12 · acacia 3 · honeysuckle 3 |
| Earth & honey | 75 | honey 55 · stone 12 · minerals 2 · saline 2 · chalk 1 |
| Citrus | 68 | citrus 27 · lemon 22 · orange 8 · lime 4 · lemon zest 3 |
| Tropical fruit | 34 | lychee 14 · tropical 9 · pineapple 8 · mango 3 |
| Vegetal | 16 | straw 8 · grass 4 · rhubarb 3 · gooseberry 1 |
| Yeast & cream | 15 | cheese 8 · cream 5 · banana 2 |
Structure: Acidity 2.8/5 · Intensity 2.5/5 · Fizziness 1.2/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 3810 ratings, average 4.0)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3.9 | 51 |
| 2022 | 4.0 | 99 |
| 2021 | 4.1 | 674 |
| 2020 | 4.1 | 220 |
| 2019 | 4.1 | 278 |
| 2018 | 4.0 | 390 |
| 2017 | 4.1 | 475 |
| 2016 | 3.9 | 194 |
| 2015 | 4.0 | 259 |
| 2014 | 4.0 | 150 |
| 2013 | 3.9 | 133 |
| 2012 | 3.9 | 160 |
| 2011 | 3.9 | 76 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Braida Vigna Senza Nome Moscato d'Asti?
A sweet sparkling white made from 100% Moscato Bianco off Braida's own hillside vineyard in Mango, Asti, Piedmont. 5.5% ABV. Vivino: 390 ratings averaging 4.0, no critic scores listed.
How much does it cost?
World average price: pending Wine-Searcher confirmation (US$30 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)). A recent vintage retails in Europe for around €12 (bottleofitaly.com, checked Sept 2026).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest fruity desserts and it works well as an aperitif. Its low alcohol and gentle sweetness make it a good stand-in for a dessert course.
What does "Vigna Senza Nome" mean?
Italian for "the nameless vineyard." When Giacomo Bologna bought this Asti vineyard in 1990, he chose not to give it a proper name — instead the label carries the Latin palindrome "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas." The capital G on the label marks a three-generation handoff within the Bologna family.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Braida official — 1982-2022: forty vintages of Bricco dell'Uccellone
- Braida official — Vigna Senza Nome
- bottleofitaly.com — Moscato d'Asti Vigna Senza Nome product page
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