The HSC train rolls mightily along, constantly searching and
testing, to further bolster the list and with this column, to bring the results
to you, so that we might all prosper. Unquestionably, try as our
not-very-trained HSC staff (me) might, we still wind up with a bevy of duds,
wines, that while are not bad, are just of not high enough quality to make the
cut. I think we’re running somewhere in the neighborhood of one addition every
10 – 15 different wines…something like that. Once I started this list, it's gone down quite a bit as I will take entire weekends to just enjoy the fruits of the list, rather than even the modified testing of one new wine and one "anchor" wine (that's on the list already), a far cry from the early stages, when nearly everything was experimentation all the time. Some of the wines will take more than
one testing, but most we can tell right out of the gate are either going to
make the list or not. This was one that did and is the first that was added in 2014.
From the first sip of this slightly effervescent
(carbonated) sweet potion, we knew we were onto something. I got it initially
for a dessert my wife wanted to make and I think it was a struggle for her to not
only keep enough for the dessert but also to save enough so I could sample it,
as I like to do with everything boozy that comes through here (with few
exceptions). After tasting the two or three swallows that my dearest had *ahem*
graciously allowed me, it was clear I
had to get another bottle to re-test. My immediate thought was to just add it
to the list, but that small amount, while enough to get a good feel, is not
enough to really gain a grasp. We are, of course, wanting full grasp on these
things.
Moscato, for those of you unawares, is one of the sweeter
dessert grapes out there. In this case, it is just a matter of chilling to the
desired temp, twisting off the screwcap, pour and go. You get a nice prominent
sweetness, but not enough to be cloying, somewhat reminiscent of honey and some
of the lighter fruits in tone, but definitely having that distinctive Muscat
taste to it. It is by no means heavy, rather on the lighter side, but just
enough heft to give it the right touch of mouth feel. It’s not in the territory of a full-on champagne,
but it does very lightly graze the side with its sparkly nature and grace notes
of apple. In short, this is the type of wine that people who don’t like wine
will love.
For around $11 a bottle and with high drinkability, you can
almost always find room for a bottle of this. The applications of using it for
desserts are very strong with this as well and it’s one of the more versatile
wines on the list, as long you’re looking at something on the sweet side. This
meets all the criteria of a Standard, though we frankly don’t get it frequently
as we’d usually rather have something heavier and with more body and complex
tones for our movie nights, but for those times that we do pick it up, it never
disappoints.
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