($20, Aiko Imports):  Brazil ranks third in wine production in South America after Argentina and Chile, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine.  And almost a quarter of the country’s production is sparkling wine.  Most of the fine wine production is located in the Serra Gaúcha area, where Italian and German immigrants settled, in the southern (cooler — away from the equator) part of the country near the border with Uruguay.  Made with the Moscato grape, this sparkler is stylistically reminiscent of Asti Spumante — floral and slightly sweet.  It’s the type of bubbly you might sip while sitting by the pool in the afternoon since it weighs in at a mere 7.5 percent stated alcohol.
86 Michael Apstein Sep 29, 2020