From the least to the most sophisticated wine drinkers, nearly everyone sings the praises of heuriger and vinho verde, respectively the inexpensive young white wines of Austria and Portugal. Go a step further and you will find hordes of even the most sophisticated wine lovers writing poems of praise about nouveau Beaujolais. If you've ever wondered why, not too many of the sophisticated among us are willing to admit that the equally light and bright Muscato d'Asti can every bit as refreshing and delightful. The problem is that most people first tasted heuriger , Nouveau Beaujolais and vinho verde during trips abroad and this, in a nutshell, added a certain amount of snob appeal to talking about them. Muscato d'Asi, on the other hand, has been imported into North America and England for many years and, alas, came to have a low-status name.

No one will ever accuse Italy's Moscato d'Asti of being sophisticated. Fair enough, however, for this is not a wine meant to be sipped, reflected and discussed. On the contrary, this frizzante (lightly sparkling) wine is meant to be consumed, almost as well chilled as you would Champagne, in large mouthfulls. What the heck, this is a wine so simple that if it strikes your fancy do as the Italians do and add ice cubes to the glass. In a phrase, Moscato d'Asti is a wine intended for pure and simple pleasure. but as Groucho Marx once observed (albeit with regard to a completely different subject), at their best, these wines are "worth their weight in smiling gold".

Made in the Piedmont region from Moscato Bianco (the grapes the French refer to as Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains), these wines are always low in alcohol (5.5% maximum), remarkably fruity and fragrant and just sweet enough that some consider them a lovely wine as either an aperitif or a dessert wine. Delicate, light on the palate and with just the hint of musky aromas, some (including this writer) even consider Moscato d'Asti as the perfect wine with breakfast.

Following are reviews of five of these wines that I recently sampled, four from Italy and, as much to my surprise as anyone else, one from Israel.

Vietti, Moscato d'Asti, Cascinetta, 1999: With a color somewhere between that of light straw and liquid gold, this light to medium bodied wine has flavors and aromas of wild flowers, thyme, oregano and honey, all coming together very nicely with its light sparkle to make a wine ideally suited to brunch, picnics or with fruit and custard based cakes and tarts. About $10 in the U.S.A. Score 84.

Michele Chiarolo, Nivole, Moscato d'Asti, 1998: Remarkably consistent in quality, style and charm from year to year, this low alcohol wine is light golden in color, has a light sparkle that cannot help but please and hints of flowers, fruits and honeycomb in its flavors and aromas. About $10 in the U.S.A. Score 85+.

Strevi, Moscato d'Asti, 1999: This medium sweet white wine is light, fresh and fragrant, perhaps best served with goose or duck liver pate. About $8 in the U.S.A. Score 84.

Prunotto, Moscato d'Asti, 1999: If I had to describe the color of this wine, I would have to call it "blond". With generous flavors of honey and lots of wild flowers and fresh herbs in its aromas, this delicious little wine has just the right lively sparkle and plenty of acids to keep it refreshing. What the heck ….drink it with fruitcake and enjoy. Score 86.

Golan Heights Winery, Moscato, 2000: Made faithfully in the style of Moscato d'Asti light and lovely Israeli frizzante wine cannot help but please. As it did last year when it was produced experimentally, the wine is low in alcohol (5.5%) but remarkably fruity and fragrant and has excellent balance between its medium level of sweetness and its alcohol, acidity and fruitiness. The winery suggests drinking its Moscato with cheesecake and fruit based desserts. That is a viable option but my own choice will be to drink it well chilled as an aperitif. Score 86.

© Daniel Rogov