Monday, June 25, 2012

Where did all the wine coolers go?

A long time ago there was something called a wine cooler.  For those of us who grew up in the 80's-90's you most definitely should remember these guys.

Bartles & Jaymes
  
Whatever happened to them anyway?


Anyway, the allure of wine coolers (for me at least) was that they packed a higher ABV than most beers at the time, but were sweeter and more feminine than beer. Before long, your friends would ridicule and threaten to kick your ass if they ever saw a wine cooler touch your lips again.  This never happened to me, but I saw it happen to a "friend" once. ;) Then came Zima...that's a whole different story.

Jump ahead to 2012.  Drinking good wine is now a show of status.  Talking about wine is borderline pretentious. But knowing what kind of wine to drink and when is simply just helpful when trying to decide what to buy in a seemingly endless maze of choices isn't wrong at all.  Summer is upon us and it seems that Moscato wines are getting some additional attention lately.  Moscat grapes are sweet and therefore the wine is sweet as well.  Add to the fact that many labels are infusing with additional fruit flavor(s), you've got your modern version of a wine cooler.  The good news is that Muscato comes in big people bottles and not 4-packs.

At last week's Father's day cookout, my sister was kind enough to corner the market on Lunae's Sparkling Moscato & Peach.  Keep in mind that during BBQ time I am purely a beer guy. It's much easier and masculine looking for me to drink a beer that sip a glass of wine while holding a spatula.  But then comes the time where I can put the grill away and drink whatever I want & I turned to the Muscato.

Here's my breakdown.  It was light, sweet & pleasant. Maybe a little too sweet. In no way would I say this tasted like any other wine I typically like to drink, but it definitely does the trick on a hot (almost) summer day.  Cutting to the chase, this is a refreshing bottle for a BBQ.  For people who don't usually drink wine, this is might be considered a gateway. It may or may not open your mind to new & different things.   

As for the winemaker's notes, here's what I could find:

"Lunae is the first ever sparkling Moscato from Asti Italy infused with natural peach. This new wine is sweet and refreshing. It is perfect as a chilled cocktail or as the base for many exciting new drinks."



Until next time.
Cheers,
ES



1 comment:

  1. I'm looking for a great wine and how to preserve its taste once opened & prevents the oxidation process which causes deterioration. Here's a site where you can find awesome wine coolers.
    http://www.keepwinecool.com/

    ReplyDelete