Dry Muscat

I was recently asked about the availability of dry Muscat. The Muscat is surely the most seductive grape variety in the whole wide world of wine. It is best known for the dozens of lip-smackingly delicious dessert wines that are made from it. The most wonderful being (in my estimation at least) Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, the perfect partner for your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, or brown-sugar spice cake or cookies. But almost any sweet Muscat will be a treat.

But dry Muscats are also produced. They may be a bit more difficult to appreciate, or fall in love with, but your efforts will be rewarded. They share with sweet Muscat a host of floral, fruit, and perfume-like smells. Dry Muscat makes an intriguing aperitif wine, but goes especially well with spargle, or the white asparagus the Germans love with a passion. It will work with green asparagus as well, so don’t despair if you can’t find the white variety. The main source for dry Muscats is Alsace, and one of the finest I’ve had was made by Ostertag. But try whatever you can find.

Recently I came across two very different but equally enjoyable dry
Muscats, one from Spain and the other from Greece. The one from
Spain is called “Vina Esmeralda” and is produced by the Torres family.
It is a blend of 85% Muscat and 15% Gewurztraminer, a remarkable
combination if ever there was one. It presents a wine drinker with a
potent and provocative range of exotic smells and tastes, from lychee,
mango, honey, and jasmine, to ginger, clove, and allspice. In short, it’s
a voluptuous wine, one that is rich and complex. It is excellent on its
own, but makes a good match with spicy foods, like curried vegetables,
fish, or almost any cheese. At around $14 a bottle, it’s more than worth
the price.

The Greek wine is by the well-known producer Boutari and is called
Moschofilero after the grape from which it is made. As the name
implies, Moschofilero is a close kin of Muscat. In this case the grapes
were grown at high altitude in the Peloponnesus and the result is a very
crisp, clean, and refreshing wine. The colorful art work pictured above
on the label is the perfect comment on the wine: “Dionysus in Spring.”
It is lighter in color and body when compared to the Vina Esmeralda,
and contains no other grape, just the Moschofilero. Its smells run to
honeysuckle, melon, and hints of apricot, with a little bite of citrus zest
in mix. It’s a perfect summer wine, but you will not be able to restrict
drinking it to warm weather only. Given its more delicate flavors, it
should be paired with simple, clean tasting fare, such as sole, a salad, or
some similarly light dish. Again, at around $15 a bottle you can’t go
wrong.

I predict these wine will become permanent members of your stable of
great tasting, intriguing, and fun wines.