Tasting out of your comfort zone...

The Goddess of Wine gets crazy when a person says, "I don't drink xyz wine," or "I only drink xyz wine." I always ask, "Why would you limit yourself to what you already know?" So, when I'm approached by a wine rep or marketing person to try a wine that may not be something I regularly drink, I have to step outside my own comfort zone to taste it. 

Folks who know me well, know that I rarely drink sweet wines. I'm not talking about dessert wines such as Port or Sherry; I'm talking about sweet, low-alcohol porch-pounders. I received a package of 3 charmingly-packaged, partly-fermented, sweet, frizzante wines from the Mack & Schuehle Wine and Spirits Family, an international importer. 

The wines were all labeled "Mosketto" from the Piedmont region of Italy, all at 5% or 5.5% abv, and all with a suggested retail price of $12. (The photo, left, shows the bottles just after I took them out of the fridge.)

We tasted them on subsequent nights, rather than all together. The first night we paired the Rosato, a blend of Moscato and Brachetto, with a spicy pizza. It was delicious! Bright and slightly fizzy. The first sip was certainly sugar, but it moved past the sweet to creamy pink fruit - watermelon and something more tropical; papaya or passion fruit - with a long, dry finish. JD and I liked it, and thought it would be fun to drink poolside or at a picnic.

The second night we poured the Bianco, 100% Moscato. A super-tropical nose, with pineapple and citrus notes. We paired it with a salad and leftover spaghetti with meat sauce. Like the Rosato, it started very sweet, but ended dry. Lively and easy to drink.

Night 3 we brought home hamburgers and fries from a local establishment, and opened the Rosso. I've had dry Brachetto before and enjoyed it. This opened with red fruit aromas, initially very pleasing, and pairing well with the beefy burgers. Unlike the white and rose, as it warmed, the sugar took over, and the finish became somewhat cloying. This is definitely a wine you'd want to drink icy cold.

Here are 3 wines I never would have chosen for myself, and no one is more surprised than I am at how much I enjoyed them. Which takes us back to my original thought: Why would you limit yourself to only what you already know? There are so many wines from all over the world, and you'll never know how much you might actually like them if you don't try them!

Cheers!