Moscato D'Asti: Like the First Hit of Crack (I Am Told...)

One summer before my wife and I became parents, we enjoyed a chilled Moscato d'Asti for the first time. We don't remember the label, but bought it at an Italian restaurant that opened in the "cursed" building in Pikesville, Maryland, that once held the Pikes Theatre and since who knows how many restaurants since come and gone. Sweet, light, sparkling and delicious especially on the hot, muggy nights for which our region is infamous in the summer. Perfect for out on the deck in the summer breeze.

My personal favorite is Bartenura's Moscato d'Asti, a Italian kosher mevushal wine (flash-boiled for general consumption under Jewish law). Wine lovers who don't particularly love sweet wines would do well to try the Bartenura; it is less sweet than some Moscato and very refreshing. On Crablaw's Maryland Weekly, I published a more detailed review of Bartenura about a year ago.