Is this a dessert wine?

[lizardbrains]

Hi all! It's been so long since I've visited! I'm 5 months pregnant, so I haven't had much opportunity to try any wines lately. I'm making a list, though, of wines to try once this baby is out of me!!! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

Anyways, a friend had a wine to go with the cheesecake she had made for a party the other evening. The wine was by Ventana. And it was called something like "Muscat d'Orange". It said "white table wine", and I believe it was made in Monterey. It was in a slender bottle - like those used for dessert wines. My friend insisted that it was a dessert wine, and very sweet. My husband (who despises most wines, because "they burn when they go down") loved this wine, and said it didn't burn at all. I smelled this wine (since I cannot drink it, of course) and it smelled dry, and not very sweet - almost like a Chardonay. Of course I was just smelling it, and sometimes the taste can be totally different from the smell, so I'm open to whatever they say about how it tastes! (It still smelled good, though!)

Do any of you know this wine? Is it indeed a dessert wine? I'm just dying to know!!!

-Elizabeth
P.S. She bought it for $1.99 at Trader Joe's! It smelled like a $10 bottle of wine. And my DH liked it!!!!! So, it must be good!

[Bucko]

Orange Muscat is uaually made in a dessert style from my experience. Quady used to make a dandy one, easy to drink, not hot. Give it a try.

[Kcwhippet]

It is a dessert wine, but it has a fairly low residual sugar at 4%. That could be why it may have not smelled all that sweet. Incidentally, it's called Muscat d'Orange because that particular grape variety is grown primarily around the town of Orange in France, not because of any aroma or taste.

[winoweenie]

Hi LB and Congrats! Glad to have you back online. Was in Carlsbad 2 weeks ago and wore out the Santa Cruz Fishie jernt. 'Twere pretty. Have a happy turkey. WW

[Innkeeper]

Hi LB and congratulations on the upcoming event. We picked up a bottle of the Ventana on our '01 trip to CA. Not having KC's knowledge about Orange, we popped it with Duck l'Orange. It matched splendidly.

[wondersofwine]

Congratulations on the upcoming event! I was in San Diego for two days in September following a business trip to Monterey.
We had a Muscat d'Orange from a California winerey at the Pinehurst Wine Festival. I don't think Ventana was represented there and I don't remember which winery it was. I thought of it as a mildly interesting dessert wine.

[lizardbrains]

Thanks for the replies, guys. The only dessert wine I'd ever had was a cheap Sutter Home one, and it was so sweet I thought I was getting cavities from drinking it! YUCK! So, I'm glad to hear that this wine probably isn't like that. Only 4 more months and I can try it on my own tastebuds!! :-)

[hotwine]

Uhhh, not so fast, LB. Check with your doc for his ideas on a date for you to revisit the juice.

[winedope1]

yum- love the Quady Electra orange muscat!