Moscato d’Asti
Piedmont’s best-kept secret is this low-alcohol sparkler, perfect with dessert or cheese
<< WEEKDAY
Cascina Castlet Moscato d’Asti. Devotees nicknamed this Bug Juice, because of the adorable butterfly on the label. Behind the fun you’ll find a bewitchingly foxy nectar uniting white pepper and candied nectarines. Available at Byerly’s in Maple Grove. $15.99
WEEKEND >>
Batasiolo Moscato d’Asti is like a flower garden in riotous bloom on a warm still night. Notes of minerals, orange musk, salt, honeysuckle, and apricot chase around the glass, by the time you pinpoint them all, you’ve whiled away a blissful hour. Available at Pairings Wine Market in Minnetonka. $16.99
<< BIRTHDAY
2008 Elio Perrone, “Bigaro.” Moscato’s inherent nectarines and candied pears are here pierced by a cupid’s arrow of strawberries and roses from the Brachetto, yielding a dessert sparkler as adorable and memorable as first love. Available at Solo Vino in St. Paul. $20
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is the author of the forthcoming Drink This: Wine Made Simple (Ballantine Books).
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