I picked up this bottle at Vin Bin a month or so ago when I went hunting for our usual bottle of Moscato. It was more expensive at $19 but I thought we’d give it a try. How did it compare?

ColonelGrape: 80. I gave the bottle I’ve liked the most an 85 (Soria Bruno Cascina del Santuario) so I’m going a little lower here. It was the usual Moscato being very light, mild bubbles, and big on sweetness. It’s very low alcohol content makes it easy to drink and perfect for an aperitif, desert, or even with some light meals…I’m sure Moby would even have it with breakfast. Definitely a wine you need to be in the mood for but when the time is right it’s a nice wine to relax with.

MobyGrape: 88.  This wasn’t my favorite Moscato that we had, but it pretty much lived up to what I expected.  Delicately bubbly (enough so you have an excuse to pull out the champagne flutes) and a very light flavor, it was sweet without being overbearing.  Like if you get too ambitious and you kind of chug it because it’s delicious (not that I’d ever do that) you won’t find yourself having to try and keep an unruly burp from erupting (once again, not that I’ve ever done that) and come off as less Bond girl, and more Bud girl.  I think it’s safe to say that at this point I like Moscato, it’s just a matter of finding my favorite producer.

Moscato d’Asti is an Italian sparkling white wine made from a white variety of Muscat grapes called Muscato Bianco. It’s typically thought of as a desert wine due to it’s sweetness and low alcohol content (5.5% in this case) however I also think it can work as an aperitif. Here’s where it gets slightly confusing:

Asti: A region of Italy in Piedmont; Also a sparkling white wine made from Muscato Bianco

Moscato d’Asti: Like Asti (the wine) however less sparkling and less alcohol. Also made from Muscato Bianco.

Aperitif: Alcoholic beverages normally served before a meal.

As you can see Asti can refer to the region of Asti or the sparkling white wine. I have no idea why they decided to do it that way but they did and now we have to deal with it. What’s the difference between Moscato d’Asti, Asti, and Champagne? Two things: First, Champagne can only come from the Champagne region in France, regardless of the wine itself. Second, the true difference is the way the wine gets it’s sparkling properties. Champagne uses secondary fermentation and Asti wines use the Charmat method. It’s a long and detailed story describing the methods but if you’re ever curious look them up!

We decided to open this bottle as an aperitif on Christmas eve since two of our guests are not into non-sweet wines (I’ll have to work on that). We enjoyed some nice honey goat cheese and crackers and the wine was great:

MobyGrape: 89. I thoroughly enjoyed this guy!  I tend to enjoy
the sweeter varities of sparkling wines, and this was just sweet
enough without being overbearing, and wasn’t too fizzy so it was
perfectly fine to have with appetizers or really light meals.  It was
the Goldie Locks of sparkling wine for the evening.  Just right.  I
feel like this would pair well with french toast, and it’s light
enough to enjoy with a nice brunch.

colonelgrape: 85. Full disclaimer: I am not a huge sparkling wine fan as we know so take my rating with a grain of salt. That being said…this Moscato d’Asti was quite good. I liked how it was only semi-sparkling compared with Champagne or Asti…sometimes the bubbles are too much for me, I don’t even like soda that much. It had nice fruit notes and was very mild. I personally prefer Port, Sauternes, or Ice Wine for my desert wines but this would do nicely and it worked well as an aperitif. I don’t think I’d want it with a meal though, it’s so mild I think it would be overpowered easily.