Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale straw, few fine bubbles
Nose: clean, light intensity, lychee, green apple, touch of stone fruit, orange/tangerine
Mouth: med sweetness, med acidity, light body, med finish lychee, orange, citrus
All in all: Great quality; drink now.

I bought this wine one Saturday night where I think I decided that I needed to treat myself to an entire bottle of wine and an uninterrupted evening of 9gag and SNL. It was pathetically amazing. So there.

Moscato d’Asti is such a crowd pleaser. A typical one will be sweet but light, along with beautiful fruity and floral notes. I recall aromas of lychee, green apples, notes of stone fruit, and oranges. It had a medium sweetness with a perfect balance of acidity to clean off the palate.

I thought that it would be great to bring back for a Valentine’s Day-themed wine tasting session at UBC – out of a rosé, a Cava, and an Amontillado, this Moscato d’Asti was the traditional and more subtle personality of the wines, with Cava being the adventurous, the Amontillado being the strategic, and the rosé being the hopeless romantic.

I only know of one person who didn’t really enjoy this wine – which I respect, but then again, among his favourite wines are White Zinfandels (oh God, I’m “that guy”, aren’t I?). I made a Justin Bieber White Zinfandel joke one time for a tasting I led at UBC, and people actually laughed, which made me feel all cool and stuff.

Although a good choice for your friends that “don’t really like wine”, it’s sort of a shame that Moscato d’Asti can perhaps be a little expensive or perhaps lacking in variety at times, but perhaps this is only true in BC. I’m starting to see similar wines that are less expensive (and perhaps less complex) pop up, and although Moscato (d’Asti) may be seen as a less serious quaffing-type summer wine, it’s good to see some variety. It’s the one type of wine many of the executives and I at the UBC’s wine tasting club agree to keep bringing back, because everyone seems to like it.

Producer: Tranchero Osvaldo
Designation: N/A
Region: Italy
Sub-Region: Asti, Piedmont
Variety: Moscato Bianco
ABV: 5.5%
Vintage: 2010
Tasted: November 5, 2011; February 10, 2012
Price: $20 (BC LDB)