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            Autumn has arrived when the nights wax, the days wane, and the mercury creeps down into the blue. For now, we find ourselves in that brief but lovely temperate zone in the wake of the summer heat, preceding the chill of the harvest. While there's still enough time after a long day's work to enjoy a glass of wine in the face of the setting sun, why not indulge in one last flirtation with Italy's sweet and fizzy summertime treat, Moscato d'Asti.

            Moscato d'Asti is produced by partially fermenting the grape Moscato Bianco (also known as Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains for you Francophiles). Only the finest Moscato grapes from the vineyards surrounding the Piedmontese town of Asti may be used in the final product. The juice is immediately chilled and filtered after pressing, and fermentation is halted when the wine achieves an alcohol content of 5.5%. Production is inherently much smaller than its fully sparkling cousin Asti Spumante (about 3 million bottles annually to Asti's 75 million), and the stringent standards required for its production have elevated the wine to DOCG status, Italy's highest wine quality rank.

            Where some Asti bears more resemblance to Sprite than fine wine, Moscato d'Asti possesses a pretty, musky, and often very layered nose with just the right amount of sweetness and acidity in balance-- and like every great wine, different producers will produce different styles. If you prefer your Moscato a bit on the sweeter side, try the Eredi Lodali Moscato D'Asti 2006 with its emphasis on bright fruit and high-but-balanced sugar. For those who prefer a walk on the drier side, try the Dante Rivetti "Riveto" Moscato D'Asti 2005, which is focused more on the bubbles than on the candy. The Marchesi di Gresy Moscato D'Asti La Serra 2006 has a beautiful floral quality on the nose and a lingering citrus/exotic fruit finish. For an experience both light and rich, try the Ceretto I Vignaioli Di Santo Stefano Moscato d'Asti 2005 (available in both full and half bottles) which has amazing depth and opulence for a frizzante style wine, with a nose full of honey and peaches. Finally, for the budget conscious we offer the Aurora Piedmonte Moscato 2006; though it is not a true Moscato d'Asti (the producer pulls grapes from a slightly wider range of vineyards), the production process is the same and the result is amazing for the price.

            So before the leaves fall and your wine drinking fancy turns to thoughts of port- slice some fruit and cheddar, break out the deck chairs and toast the changing of the seasons with summer in a glass!