Bolivian Spanish word
el mosto
Meaning: fresh, unfermented grape must
Where it is said: In these pages mosto belongs to Tarija: it is offered at bodega tastings in the wine valley and ordered with lunch at a café in town.
Start with lesson 1
Greeting at any hour and saying your nameLesson 1, level A0
Start lesson 1How it is used in Bolivia
In the wine valley, mosto is the fresh pressed juice of the grape before it ferments, non-alcoholic. Along with jugo de uva it's the standard non-alcohol option on a bodega visit, so you taste the same vineyard without the alcohol.
In Tarija's wine valley, mosto is the natural non-alcohol drink from the same grapes, a warm, local thing to ask for at a tasting.
A grape juice you'll see around Tarija's wine valleys, a completely normal non-alcohol drink to order alongside, or instead of, anything else. What you drink is always your easy choice.
How to use it
At a bodega tasting, mosto is the drink to ask for when you would rather not have wine. The flyer lists it next to jugo de uva as the non-alcohol option.
A glass of mosto counts for the toast. Raising juice, mosto or water is just as warm as raising wine, and '¡Salud!' works with any drink.
Away from the bodegas, a mosto is also an ordinary order with lunch, for example at a café on Tarija's Plaza Luis de Fuentes.
Examples
¿Hay opción sin alcohol, como jugo de uva o mosto?
Is there a non-alcohol option, like grape juice or mosto?
Prefiero no tomar; ¿hay jugo de uva o mosto para brindar igual?
I'd rather not drink; is there grape juice or mosto so I can join in the toast all the same?
A real exchange
At a bodega tasting in Tarija
You
¿Tendrían un jugo de uva o un mosto, si no es molestia?
Would you have grape juice or grape must, if it is not too much trouble?
Host
Claro. Le recomiendo el mosto de la casa.
Of course. I recommend the house grape must.
What to avoid
- Do not feel you owe a reason or an apology when you choose mosto over wine. No reason is required, and a good host accepts at once.
Good to know
- Origin
- According to Wiktionary, mosto comes from Latin mustum, from mustus, 'fresh, young' and, of wine, 'unfermented'.
- Not to be confused with
- The Diccionario de americanismos also records mosto in Bolivia and Paraguay as the juice of sugar cane. In brewing, mosto is the wort, the liquid that becomes beer.
Questions people ask
Is mosto alcoholic?
No. Mosto is the juice of the grape before it ferments, and in Tarija's bodegas it is served as the non-alcohol option.
What is mosto in English?
Must, the juice of fresh grapes before it becomes wine. WordReference also gives plain 'grape juice'.
Sources
What this page says beyond the chapters of the course comes from these sources.
- Wiktionary (English): mostoaccessed 21 October 2026
- Wikcionario (español): mostoaccessed 21 October 2026
- WordReference, Spanish-English: mostoaccessed 21 October 2026
- ASALE, Diccionario de americanismos: mostoaccessed 21 October 2026
Learn it in a real situation
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