Jeff’s Corner 12-1-20

Howdy, Everyone!

There are lots of new releases to check out in the next few weeks, just in time for the holidays.  This Friday we’ll take a look at our new 2018 Merlot, followed by the ’18 Bellissimo and Invention.

Today we’ll take a look at the new GCV 2019 Muscat Canelli. To me, Muscat Canelli just might be the Rodney Dangerfield of the wine world. It just doesn’t get any respect.  

Why? Let’s blame it on Moscato, the super sweet wine with training-wheels that is the gateway for many new wine drinkers. I’m sure I would have been there, too, but I had Blue Nun. Moscato is a style of wine made from Muscat Canelli, not a grape variety.

With footprints stretching back millennia, the Muscat family of grapes is most likely the progenitor of all vitas vinifera grapes. It has over 200 members, and the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder called it “uva apiana” (grape of the bees) due to its honey-like aroma. The best variety for producing great wine is “Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains” (White Muscat with little berries). We know this grape as Muscat Canelli.

The  color of our 2019 Texas High Plains off-dry Muscat Canelli is a brilliant pale yellow/green, with an ABV of 11.0%. The residual sugar is 2.2% (which is a bit sweeter than the1.7% in the 2018), which is the equivalent of about 4 grams of sugar per 6 oz. glass. Take note, the aforementioned Moscato wines can range as high as 12% residual sugar.

Intense, dynamic aromas of tangerine, orange blossom, and lemon grass are layered with honeysuckle, burnt caramel, butterscotch, and honey. Beautifully balanced, crisp acidity transitions the sugars across our palate to a clean, lingering fruit finish.

Let’s serve this well-chilled, between 40-45*, with a Meyer lemon Meringue Pie. Yum to that!