Quady Essensia Orange Muscat 2012

Quady Essensia Orange Muscat Dessert Wine is a full-bodied sweet wine made with Orange Muscat grapes. The experience of Essensia is unmistakable: a rich gold in the glass is accompanied by spicy orange-apricot-pear flavors and aromas, balanced with perfect fruit acidity to finish clean, tempting you for one more sip. The Orange Muscat grape variety is little known. In 1980, Andrew Quady's discovery of underused Orange Muscat grapes in Reedley, California, led him to make a wine that celebrated the intense aromas and spicy fruit flavors of the grapes. "Essensia" refers to the idea that the wine contains the very essence of the grape. In Italy, the variety is known as Moscato Fior d'Arancio: Orange Blossom Muscat. These grapes are harvested at 22 Brix, crushed, chilled, and allowed to macerate. Wine spirits are added to arrest the brief fermentation. The wine is lightly fortified to about 15% alcohol and aged for three months in well used 60 gallons (mostly French oak) barrels. Its relatively high acidity makes it taste balanced, even with its considerable sweetness, more like the taste of fresh fruit than an old fashioned sticky sweet muscat. The label art, by Ardison Phillips, is a study of orange blossoms. Essensia and dessert are sensational together. Quady Essensia Orange Muscat 2012 pairs well with chocolate, almond, peach, apricot and apple desserts, or cheesecake. Dip in biscotti, moisten cakes and add to truffles. Drink it alongside fresh goat cheese and enjoy the interplay between the sweet and sour flavors. You can create remarkable drinks with Essensia. Pour into a flute of sparkling water or champagne for a celebratory occasion, or use in place of a liqueur in a cocktail. Best served chilled. Enjoy!