Tasting - "Risata Moscato d'Asti"

Name: Risata Moscato d'Asti
Variety: 100% Moscato
Region: Asti, Piedmont DOCG 
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $15.95

Wine Shop Review: This Moscato d'Asti is fresh, fragrant, and frizz ante with vibrant flavors and aromas of ripe stone fruit, tangerines, and honey.  The wine is concentrated and flavorful, but not overly rich or heavy; sweet, yet balanced.

My Review: Very refreshing! This Moscato is nice, light, and sweet, but not overbearing.  You can taste all the fruit and citrus flavors with just a little bit of fizz to it. The smell was very floral and sweet that I knew I would like the taste of it.  I agree that it was very balanced in taste.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc"

Name: Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Yarra Valley
Continent: Australia
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95

Wine Shop Review: Predominately fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel tanks, with a small portion barrel fermented in older French oak, the wine is blended, bottled, and released three to four months after fermentation.  The nose shows fragrant gooseberry characters with underlying passionfruit and lychee aromas.  Minerally, stalky notes are evident and provide additional complexity.  The palate is a fine and elegant style with zesty lemon acidity and length.  Varietal characters of passionfruit pulp and gooseberry dominate with hints of lemon peel in the background.

My Review:  The taste of this wine was way too potent for me.  The flavors were very strong and bitter. From the review I thought it'd taste fruity, but I hardly tasted any fruit.  To me the smell and taste were both smoky and oak like.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Frisk Prickly Reisling"

Name: Frisk Prickly Reisling
Variety: 90% Riesling, 10% Muscat Gordo
Region: Victoria
Continent: Australia
Year: 2011
Price: $11.95

Wine Shop Review: Leave it to the Aussies to come up with a tasty value wine with a sassy descriptive name.  Frisk is a frisky Riesling with a pleasing level of prickly spritz lifting the ample fruity flavors.  It has a pale straw color, lively bubbles, loads of tropical fruit and jasmine aromas, off-dry fruity flavors, a refreshing 9.8% alcohol and a sweet/tart finish; and all that Australian goodness.

My Review: So tasty! I'm a sucker for sweet wines, so this was definitely in my favor. It tasted like candy to me. It wasn't as sweet as Moscato, so I could see myself drinking it with more than just dessert. I could taste all sorts of fruits in this wine, such as apple and  lemon.  When it was poured into my glass there were two things I noticed, the bubbles and the thickness of the wine. It appeared a little bit thicker than the other whites, so I figured it'd be sweet.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Leese Fitch Savignon Blanc"

Name: Leese Fitch Sauvignon Blanc
Variety:100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Sonoma, California
County: USA
Year: 2010
Price: $10.95

Wine Shop Review: 90 points, Wine Enthusiast.  A lovely Sauvignon Blanc, dry, crisply acidic and clean with complex citrus, flower and mineral flavors.  A great value for the money.

My Review:  This white wine is so smooth and has great flavor to it. It smelled fruity and tasted similar, but had just a little touch of sweetness. Extremely refreshing due to the citrus and lemony aroma to it. I bought a bottle to serve with a nice pasta dish.

I did not taste this with food.

Tasting - "Opera Prima Moscato"

Name: Opera Prima Pink Moscato
Variety: 97% Muscat, 3% Tempranillo
Region: Castilla La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: N/A
Price: $5.95

Wine Shop Review: This is an amazing value for an inexpensive Moscato sparkler that is great for many occasions.  Its bright fruit aromas of lychee and lime are appealing and the flavors of honeydew, lime, and lychee are delightful. Great for cake or fruit-based desserts.

My Review: My absolute favorite from the tasting! I've only tried Moscato once before and I wasn't a huge fan, so when I tasted this one I was surprised by how good it tasted! The sweet fruity flavors definitely came through and I could taste the hint of lime.  The sparkling wine reminded me of a fruity 7UP. I bought a bottle and plan to serve it with a fruit tart of some sort.

I did not taste this wine with food.