In the wine industry we are always trying to figure out the next hot trend. The French Paradox story that aired on 60 Minutes in 1991 catapulted sales of red wine and Merlot in particular. The 2004 movie Sideways is credited with creating huge sales increases  of California Pinot Noir.

The current craze for Moscato is a little more difficult to pinp on one specific event. Certainly pop culture stars have done their share to create"moscato madness." Sales in the U.S. are up a staggering 73% over last year. This has left big wine companies scrambling to make as much as possible with some large producers buying bulk moscato from wherever they can to quench demand.

Long before the current infatuation, moscato was produced in Italy. Moscato is Italian for muscat and I think it is important to know that there are over 50 different types of moscato just in Italy. I won't bore you with the details, but the finest example is Moscato Bianco, sometimes called Moscato di Canelli.

Moscato Bianco is an ancient variety that is planted over virtually the entire Italian peninsula. The best known and most popular is the Moscato Bianco grown in the Asti region of Piedmont. It comes in two forms: the fully sparkling Asti version and the lightly fizzy, less alcoholic Moscato D'Asti.

My favorite producer of these wines is a Azienda Ca' D'Gal. Winemaker Alessandro Boido crafts wines from his vineyards in the heart of the Asti region. His low yielding vines [some are more than 50 years old] produce wines that have the perfect balance of sugars and acidity.

If you are one of those wine buffs who snubs moscato, I'll bet you haven't tried Ca' D'Gal. If you routinely but moscato in a 1.5 liter bottle from the grocery store, treat yourself to the real thing.

Paul Quaglini, SE Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq