The hot new thing...wait, what?

Being in the industry, it has been really interesting to see trends come and go. I often talk to retailers, suppliers, bartenders, GM's and waitstaff to find out what the "hot" items are at any given time. To my surprise, lately there has been one answer that has permeated the discussion. Evidently the thing to buy right now is Moscato. Yep, the slightly sweet, low alcohol, slightly sparkling stuff that normally comes from Italy.

Made from the perfume-driven Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains grape, this really seems to me to be a wine that would have been popular 20 years ago. The examples that I have tried range from just a touch sweet to almost syrupy, and have other notes of lemon peel, flowers, perfume, peaches, and green apple. A bulk of the wine that is made from this grape comes from Piedmonte, but there are delicious examples from Verona, and even from France and Australia.

To put this theory to the test, I ran an experiment with my family (yeah, I know, but hey- they got to drink out of the deal). Basically we had a large family get-together, so I put a couple different bottles of moscato on the table, as well as other various whites and a few reds. To say that the moscato was a hit is a gross understatement. Two bottles were completely gone before we even sat for dinner! The other whites barely even got touched.

So, with that in mind, get out there and celebrate this cooler weather with a bottle of wine that is easy to drink and rather refreshing.