5 Champagne Alternatives For Toasting 2012(4)
Pink moscato
If clear or yellowish bubbly just isn't for you and your tastebuds want something less Brut and more Bartles & Jaymes, pink moscato is a sweet and inexpensive New Year's solution.
While not as shamelessly fruity and fizzy as a malt beverage, and not as serious a dessert wine as other vintages using the Muscat grape, the pink moscato is a wine that almost had to come from a place that had nothing to lose by bending the rules a bit. Australia's just the kind of place for such experiments and has produced the best examples of this particular pink fizz.
The pink itself isn't such a grand feat. Rose Champagne is regularly produced either by letting the clear juice of black grapes hang out on their crushed skins a little longer or by adding a little pinot noir to the mix. Rose cava also has hints of cabernet sauvignon and other red wines in its mix.
The pink moscato's secret is the natural sweetness of the Muscat grape that makes it as suitable for a cordial such as Muscatel as it is for a light, sweet pink wine. Pink moscato's alcohol content usually holds around 8% and is far less stiff than a comparable glass of Champagne. Versions by Emeri de Bortoli and Innocent Bystander are also far cheaper than Champagne at less than $14 a bottle.
That price is far from fixed, as Italian versions can fetch up to $17 while a 10% alcohol variety from American white zinfandel purveyors Sutter Home goes for as little as $6.
