Wine of the Week: G’day Red Moscato

Wine: G’day Red Moscato

Grape: Muscat

Region: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Vintage: NV

Price: $9.99

Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquors

In the glass: G’day Red Moscato wine is a deep antique-rose color with an orange tinge and translucent core going out into a fine light orange-to-pale topaz rim definition with high viscosity and signs of effervescence.

On the nose: This interesting wine is chock-full of crushed red fruits with raspberries, cranberries, lingonberries and red currants over a solid mineral-laden stone-ground flour dough, almost like fresh bread, then hints of rubbed rose petals, floral characteristics and red licorice.

On the palate: There is an immediate sweet attack of red fruit medley with raspberries, strawberry sauce and red-grape crush. Then the excellent firm acidity kicks in and takes the wine through a nicely balanced midpalate, keeping that sweet candied apple in check while carrying on with nice length and just a touch of rosewater on the finish. It’s a drinkable and not cloyingly sweet wine.

Odds and ends: Valentine’s Day is nearing and many of us are scurrying to find new ideas to sweeten our significant others’ hearts. The solution may lie in sweetening the palate first; this unusual yet utterly delicious wine may just be the ticket.

The muscat grape varietal, originally coming from Persia and well-known in antiquity by both the Egyptians and the Romans, is now widely planted around the world. Australia is one place it is successfully cultivated.

With moscato being American consumers’ third most favorite wine, this is not just a welcome addition to the “family,” but a tasty and interesting spin on that.

As moscato is normally a white slightly fizzy wine, this Australian “cousin” is a red version from black muscat grapes. With its relative sweetness and good acidity, it should be the perfect match for the chocolate and candy that usually make the rounds on Valentine’s Day.

It is not a vintage wine, as it doesn’t really matter for this type of wine, but it is easy to open, coming with a handy screw cap. If you plan to store it for another Valentine’s Day in the future, don’t. Just chill it to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and share it with your lover.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.