And you thought tomorrow was just another Wednesday.
Not so. Tomorrow is National Moscato Day.
If you intend to raise a glass of this fun, delicious, delightfully sweet wine to celebrate, you’ll need a few fascinating facts to work into the subsequent small talk.
Here are 10…
- Moscato smells almost as good as it tastes. Honeysuckle and orange blossom are among its alluring aromas.
- As for the flavors, you can almost always expect to experience peach and orange. Others flavors will vary depending upon the clone and the place where the grapes are grown.
- Moscato is the Italian name for Muscat Blanc.
- Muscat Blanc is one of the oldest wine grape varieties known to man, dating back to the Ancient Greeks.
- Two of the favorite ways to enjoy Moscato are in forms known as Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante. Moscato d’Asti is semi-sparkling, while Asti Spumante is fully sparkling. Just to confuse matters, some wines labeled simply as Moscato are made in a bubbly style.
- While Moscato wines typically are semi-sweet or sweet, the variety can be made into really, really sweet dessert wines. In Australia, these wines — made primarily in the Rutherglen region — are known as “stickies.” (I have been known to pour Rutherglen Muscat over French vanilla ice cream for a two-continent dessert.)
- Awesome food pairing and a simple meal: Moscato with teriyaki chicken and chow mein from Pandra Express.
- It also pairs wonderfully with vegetables and just about any Asian fare. Most spicy dishes work quite nicely with Moscato.
- Pink Moscato is not in any way related to White Zinfandel. It’s typically made with a splash of Merlot to give it its color and a hint of berry flavor.
- Unless you’re hanging with unadulterated wine snobs, it’s perfectly okay to transform your glass of Moscato into a fizzy, fruity cocktail. Just add a few peach and orange slices, and enjoy.
