By Jim Ginley

Saturday, June 5, 2010 - “And a glass of Moscato…”

That’s a line in a popular video by rap artist, Drake.

Moscato from the United States and Moscato d’Asti from Italy are popular right now. In fact, here at Green’s, we have increased our selection from four brands to nine in the last month and it sells like crazy.

The Muscat family of grapes is grown around the world, and it is one of the oldest varieties known to man.  The wines are always sweet and often have a musky aroma.

The most popular use of the Moscato grape, or more properly, Moscato Bianco,  is to make sparkling wine from Italy, known to all simply as Asti. Asti is also a town at the center of the Piemonte region in northwest Italy.

The wine was previously known as Asti Spumante, (spumante means “sparkling”  in Italian), but that was changed to simply Asti in 1994. It is a fully sparkling wine and packaged like Champagne with a wire cage over the cork. The best-selling brand in the world is Martini and Rossi, known for appearing in the winners’ hands at many European Grand Prix races. In the U.S., there are many brands sold under the name of Spumante, and most are inexpensive brands such as Andre and J Roget.

The best wine comes from the Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (white Muscat with little berries), a limited yield variety in the southern Rhone region of France. It is used to make the fortified wine known as Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, a Vin Doux Naturel. Wines in this category are sweet and fortified, which means they are  made from grapes naturally high in sugar, and the fermentation stops when more alcohol is added. The result is a rich taste of honey and floral notes with flavors of peach, apples, and roses.

A good brand where I work costs $13 for a 375 ml bottle.

The category that has really taken off is Moscato d’Asti from Italy. It differs from Asti with less alcohol, fewer bubbles and a sweeter taste, which is due to the fermentation process being stopped sooner.

It is not a full-blown sparkling wine; instead it is frizzante, or slightly sparkling. Frizzante is corked and sealed like a still wine, which is unlike the Champagne process. Many frizzante brands are available, including Beviamo, Castello del Poggio and several other priced from $5.99 to $12.99.

The U.S. version is simply called Moscato and is a still wine with no bubbles. Some popular brands are Barefoot, Beringer, and Sutter Home. So if you like sweet wine and want to be hip, try some Moscato d’Asti.

Jim Ginley is a 30-year veteran of the local hospitality industry and serves as the wine consultant at Green's Discount Beverages in Myrtle Beach. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .