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New Year, New Wine

If there were a prize for an underdog grape in the wine world, Muscat would win. It earned an undeserved bad rap after youthful first impressions of drinking too much cheap Muscato d’Asti – then attempting to get out of bed the day after! This experience indelibly stamped Muscat in the aversion part of the brain, and I forgive you for shunning the variety if this was your initiation to the grape.

This is not your normal Muscat. It was grown by RSVnapa in the organic and regenerative Scintilla Sonoma Vineyard, and it is deliciously versatile. There are many sub-varieties and styles of Muscat, but RSVnapa only grows the noble Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains on the organic/regenerative Scintilla Sonoma Vineyard. For years, RSVnapa crafted this tasty grape into a vibrant, dry wine, but the grape can also be picked late for an elegantly sweet wine. So here it is, the inaugural vintage of the Late Harvest iteration. The grape has a range of aromas and flavors unlike anything else, with magnolia, honeysuckle, jasmine, citrus, apricot peach, and lychee fruit with a hint of pithy grapefruit-like bitterness in the finish for a balanced wine that is great with all kinds of delicious foods: sweet, savory, and spicy.

Don’t assume it is just another clunky, sweet-sticky dessert wine because it is late harvest. This wine is the vinous equivalent of biting into a perfectly ripe peach with a vibrant, bright siren call of a finish that beckons you back for more.

Rob Sinskey