Wine of the Week: Frontera Moscato

Wine: Frontera Moscato

Grape: Pinot grigio

Region: Central Valley, Chile

Vintage: 2012

Price: $2.99

Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquor

In the glass: This lightly fizzy, sweetish Moscato wine is a fine pale clean citrine-yellow color with a clean, clear appearance from the core going out into a glass-clear rim definition with sticky fizzy viscosity.

On the nose: The wine has lovely forward sweet honeysuckle, stone fruit, citrus rind, dragon fruit, pretty floral notes, good minerality and subtle fizziness

On the palate: The soft white fruit overtakes the palate in a most delicate way with light prickliness on the tongue, but nothing like a Champagne or sparkling wine. There are supple honeydew melon, golden delicious apple, lychee and pear sparkler notes through the midpalate into the very soft and delicate finish, which lingers for a minute with nice white fruit and good complex minerality that gives the wine a light, yet serious structure.

Odds and ends: I’m going to come right out and say it: This is the wine to celebrate Independence Day with. Now before you all start coming after me for advocating that you drink Chilean Moscato for the July Fourth celebrations, I would like to point out that none of the major American beer brands are American owned anymore. That’s right, Budweiser, Miller, Coors and a whole host of other big-name brands are owned by foreign brewing groups. Another reason is that this ultradelicious and easy-drinking Moscato from giant Chilean producer Concha y Toro is actually on supersale at Lee’s Discount Liquor for the ridiculous sum of less than $3. In addition, with all the snacks and foods that are normally consumed for the Fourth of July celebrations, this is an ideal pairing wine, because it has a bit of sweetness and goes great alongside anything pretty much. This is a delicious Moscato wine from Chile and should make for a wonderful aperitif wine for almost any occasion. Sporting low alcohol and refreshing characteristics are obviously big pluses here. It will drink well for the next couple of years. Serve it chilled to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Happy Independence Day.

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.