Supermarket Wine Full Review & Tasting: Turtle Run Escape My Mind, Castello Del Poggio Moscato.

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Turtle Run Winery Escape My Mind
9 out of 10 points
Never made anything like this. Combine the juices of Steuben, Catawba and Concord then ferment and see what we get. Vivid and boundless fruity aromas and flavors initially and then right at the end, bingo,some Concord! Whoa!!
Category: Red Blend
Alcohol: 9.50%

Castello del Poggio
9 out of 10 points
Category: Sparkling Sweet White Alcohol: 7% alcohol
Sweet scents of peaches and exotic fruit.

Interesting Facts: The estate lies entirely within the Monferrato area in the Province of Asti, one of Piedmont’s finest wine zones. 80% of its vineyards are in the district of Portacomaro, whilst 20% are at Costigliole d’Asti. The Monferrato is quite unlike any other viticultural region: here the vineyards alternate with woodland and fields, and there is great variation in the zone’s hillsides, even in the colour of their soils. It takes its name from the medieval stronghold that dominates it, and which once belonged to the noble Bunéis family. Its northern part is today still referred to, in dialect, as the Val del Temp (which means Valley of the Temple) because the Templars had properties there, as testified by the Codex Astensis, the only authenticated record of events in Asti during the Middle Ages. The last surviving member of the Bunéis family left the estate in his will to the Bishop of Acqui who often summered there in the 18th century.

Muscat / Moscato  
Alluringly aromatic and delightful, Muscat never takes itself too seriously. Muscat is actually an umbrella name for a diverse set of grapes, some of which are genetically related and some of which, are not. The two most important versions are the noble, Muscat blanc à Petits Grains, making wines of considerable quality and Muscat of Alexandria, thought to be a progeny of the former. Both are grown throughout the world and can be made in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling and even fortified. It is well known in Italy's Piedmont region for Moscato d’Asti, a slightly sparkling, semi-sweet, refreshing wine that is low in alcohol. On the Iberian peninsula, it goes by Moscatel, not to be confused with Bordeaux's Muscadelle, which is acutally unrelated.

In the Glass: 
Muscat wines possess marked aromatics and flavors of peach, pear, Meyer lemon, orange, orange blossom, rose petal, jasmine, honeysuckle or lychee, often with a hint of sweet spice.

Perfect Pairings
Thanks to its naturally low alcohol levels, Muscat is a perfect match for spicy Asian cuisine, especially when the wine has a little bit of residual sugar. Off-dry Muscat can work well with lighter desserts like key lime pie and lemon meringue, while fully sweet Muscat-based dessert wines are enjoyable after dinner with an assortment of cheeses.

Sommelier Secret Muscat is one of the oldest known grape varieties, dating as far back as the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Pliny the Elder wrote in the 13th century of a sweet, perfumed grape variety so attractive to bees that he referred to it as uva apiana, or “grape of the bees.” Most likely, he was describing one of the Muscat varieties.