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Wine Details
Price:
Description:
Is our Muscat dessert wine- made much like ports, i.e. by harvesting extra ripe grapes and stopping the fermentation with brandy addition. Collage is a barrel aged blend of three muscat varieties, early muscat, muscat canelli, and orange muscat. It's much like the aged Moscato of the Iberian Penninsula and has that wonderful complex peachy muscat aroma with overtones of nuts and a residual sugar of about 10%. This wine is wonderful just sipping- a small glass well chilled, maybe with some fruit. Or try pouring some over pound cake and topping with raspberries and whip cream. Also great as a marinade for melons- you can throw away the melons and drink the juice. I like to use it to sauté and caramelize vegetables- even the most committed carnivore will rave.
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Varietal Definition
Muscat:
Muscat, thought to be one of the oldest grape varieties, is grown worldwide. It is vinified in a multitude of styles, from still to sparkling, and dry to sweet to fortified. Also called Moscato, Moscatel and Muskateller, it is a sweetly aromatic, fruity grape that has many genetic variations and colors. It probably originated in Greece but maybe the independent sultanate of Muscat in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula had something to do with it. Over 200 different varieties and derivatives to the Muscat family exist today. Muscat Canelli, Orange Muscat and Black Muscat are varieties most planted in California, which makes primarily still wine. More unusual is Muscat fermented to total dryness, which leaves greater alcohol levels and no residual sugar. Some Muscats are aged in oak to provide additional complexity.Today’s recommended Muscats represent many of these styles, so use the tasting notes and percent of residual sugar - listed if provided by the winery - to find a wine you’ll enjoy. The more sugar and the lower the alcohol, the sweeter the wine, though wines above 10 percent alcohol can also be somewhat sweet.
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Muscat Canelli:
Known by many names, this grape’s official French name is Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, which translates as ‘Muscat with small berries’. In California, the name Muscat Canelli is common, derived from Moscato di Canelli, a name used in Italy. In the northern hemisphere this late-ripening variety is mainly used to make semi-sweet and sweet dessert wines, or as a table grape. Grown in many countries, including Austria and Germany (Muskateller), Hungary (Muscat Lunel), and France (Muscat Frontignan), it may be the oldest known grape, confirmed as growing around the Mediterranean for centuries. However, it should not be confused with Muscat of Alexandria, a grape with a similar ancient history in the same region.
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