Cheers to Moscato and the Sweet Life

Hello -- this is Gerry, and Gigi let me barge into her Wine Shelf to talk about my new favorite wine: Castello Del Poggio Moscato.

Readers, as well as Gigi in the 561 listeners, know how our tastes differ. While Gigi likes savory, I like sweet. If you want to get technical, Google AI tells us:

"Humans do not have individual 'sweet taste buds' but rather taste buds that can detect sweet taste. The number of taste buds on the tongue varies, but an average human has between 2,000 and 10,000 taste buds. Each taste bud contains around 50-100 taste receptor cells, which detect different tastes, including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami."

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Credit: Castello Del Poggio website

I'm not sure even a wine expert could detect "umami," whatever that is, but my taste buds definitely activate endorphins whenever they detect sweet. Which is all kind of a long-winded way to say Castello Del Poggio Moscato is an excellent choice for sweet wine lovers. 

That makes sense, since Gigi informed me that moscato originated in Italy, and the Castello Del Poggio winery, established 1699, is in the heart of Italy's Piedmont region, in the area of Asti, famous for its moscato wines. According to their website, "Castello Del Poggio is an ancient medieval fortress founded in the 12th century, where the Knights Templar once lived and protected the estate. Its namesake belonged to the artistocratic Bunéis family."

The estate currently encompasses 185 acres, where "vines receive excellent airing, ideal sun exposure and limited production per plant, lasting on average 25 years in accordance with Piedmont winemaking traditions."

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​When it comes to describing the subtleties of the taste -- are there notes of peaches and melon, acidity, oakiness, tannins (whatever that is -- I'm not sure I want to know) -- I'm like Jack in "Sideways": 'When do we taste it?"

If pressed, I would say the Castello Del Poggio is sweet without being overbearingly sweet. It's crisp, and full-bodied. Like all white wines, it is best served cold. They recommend a temperature in the low 50s, but I'm fine to go lower. The colder the better, in my book.

We have found it in the Walmart wine section for $9.99, and Total Wine has it for a dollar more. Very affordable, which I think qualifies it for Gigi's Wine Shelf, and mine.

The motto for Castello Del Poggio is "enjoy the sweet life" -- La Dolce Vita.

I'll drink to that.