Rosé vs Moscato
When it comes to choosing the best wine for your needs, the possibilities are endless. One of the most popular choices of course is rosé wine, purely down to its drinkability and complex blend of flavors. However, there are several different varieties to choose from. There are also plenty of red and white wines to opt for of course, with Moscato being one of the preferred types of white grape to use.
So if you’re given the choice of rosé vs Moscato, how can you choose? We’re going to cover everything you need to know about pink wine and its alternative white wine so that you can choose the best drink for your needs.
Let’s take a look at rosé vs Moscato in more detail so that we can make a fully informed decision between them.
Rosé Wine: A Quick Guide
Rosé wine is notorious for its delicious pink color, as well as its sweeter flavor profile. Sweet rosé wines are particularly popular for those who haven’t really tried drinking wine before, because they are a nice way to ease yourself into this style of alcoholic beverage. It’s worth noting that there are also a variety of dry rosé wines to choose from, so not all bottles of rosé will be sweet wines. If you want something a little less sweet, then you should opt for a dry rosé.
It’s important to note that the term rosé is used to describe a variety of pink wines that actually use a wide range of grapes. Typically, rosé wines have been made using enough of the grapes to get their signature pink color, but not enough so that it actually qualifies as a red wine. As a result, the sugar content tends to be higher, and there are usually fewer tannins included.
Interestingly, the sales of rosé wine exceed those of white wine in France. So it’s safe to say that this is a delicious choice that is highly versatile, and can be enjoyed alongside a wide variety of dishes.
There are a wide variety of wine grapes that can be used to create rosé. The most popular types of grapes used to make rosé are:
- Carignan
- Cinsault
- Grenache
- Mourvèdre
- Pinot noir
- Sangiovese
- Syrah
Some of the most popular versions of rosé wine include:
- White Zinfandel
- Pink Moscato
- Grenache rosé
So the most important thing to note about rosé is that there are several different varieties to choose from depending on your tastebuds.
Moscato Wine: A Quick Guide
Moscato is a type of white wine that has been made using Moscatel or Muscat grapes. It differs from rosé which can be made using different grape varietals to make the different varieties. Moscato is considered to be a sweet dessert wine because of its sweeter flavor profile. It’s also worth noting that Moscato typically has a lower alcohol content than other types of wine, because of its sweeter flavor.
It’s also worth noting that this sweeter wine is available as both a white wine and a rosé wine. That may seem confusing when we’re comparing the two, but we’re going to stick with white Moscato for now so that we can examine it in more detail. Pink Moscato tends to be made using black muscat grapes rather than the white variety.
If you were to try this sweet variety, you will get notes of peach, nectarine, and orange blossom. White Moscato is often enjoyed at the end of a meal, or even on its own. This is another fantastic wine to opt for if you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth.
You will also find that white Moscato can come in a sparkling variety. This is typically made using Muscat Blanc grapes, and is also known by the name Moscato d’Asti because of the fact it originates from the Asti region of Italy. Still Moscato wines are typically made using Moscatel or Muscat Blanc grapes, and will have a higher alcohol content than sparkling wines.
A dessert Moscato will have been made using Muscat of Alexandria or Orange Muscat grapes. These types of Moscato wines are typically oak-aged, and will have an oily texture to them.
Rosé or Moscato
Let’s take a closer look to see how these two types of wine compare in:
- Taste
- Calories
- Health impact
- Hangovers
Taste
In terms of taste, it will be difficult to compare rosé vs Moscato. This is because rosé is the term used to describe several different types of pink wine. So you can always find the flavor profile that best suits your needs. Even though rosé wines are typically sweeter in flavor, you can also find dry varieties that are less sweet.
White Moscato, however, is a naturally sweet wine. These also have a lower alcohol content, because of how they have been prepared. So if you enjoy a sweet wine, White Moscato is an excellent choice to make. However, you also can’t go wrong with its Pink Moscato variety.
If you prefer a dry wine, you should opt for one of the many rosés that have been designed with this purpose in mind.
Calories
Thanks to the fact that rosés tend to have a lower alcohol content, this means that they typically have a lower calorie profile. This will especially be the case if you opt for a dry rosé over a sweeter dessert wine.
In terms of calories, White Moscato loses out on this round. Even though it has a naturally lower alcohol content, it is much sweeter than some rosé varieties. This residual sugar means that it is higher in calories than other types of rosé wine.
It will be worth noting that Pink Moscato does tend to be higher in calories than its white counterpart.
Health impact
It’s worth noting that enjoying the odd glass of rosé wine does come with a few health benefits. This type of wine typically has a healthy dose of antioxidants, which can boost your heart health. These can also help to reduce cholesterol, as well as your risk of cancer.
It is thought that these health benefits come from the natural pink pigment that the wine picks up from the grapes used. So if you opted for the Pink Moscato over the White Moscato, this will have more antioxidants thanks to the black Muscat grape.
White Moscato also has a healthy dose of antioxidants. However, it will be important to exercise moderation, as too much could be harmful.
Hangover
So how do these two wines compare in terms of hangovers? The most important thing to remember of course is that when it comes to rosé, it will depend on which variety you have chosen. If you opt for a dry variety that has a higher alcohol content, this will give you a worse hangover than White Moscato.
However, if you opt for a sweeter rosé such as Pink Moscato, then the lower alcohol content will mean that your hangover won’t be as bad. It’s worth noting that other sweet varieties such as white zinfandel will give you less of a hangover for the very same reason.
If you were to opt for the White Moscato, you shouldn’t notice too many severe hangovers if you drink in moderation. This is due to the lower alcohol content.
Brut Rosé vs Pink Moscato
If you prefer a bubbly version of rosé, you may be wondering what the difference is between a Brut rosé and a pink Moscato. Ultimately it will come down to the grapes used in the two types of wine.
Pink Moscato is of course a still rosé. This has been made using black Muscat grapes, and this type of wine tends to have a sweeter flavor profile than Brut rosé.
Brut rosé has been made using a careful blend of Pinot Meuiner, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. This wine will also have been fermented for longer to allow the production of carbon dioxide, which gives the Brut rosé those classic bubbles associated with sparkling wine.
Is Rosé The Same As Moscato?
So, is rosé the same as Moscato? No, it isn’t. This is because rosé is the umbrella term used to describe pink wines, and they can be made from a wide variety of grapes depending on the flavor profile that you are after. Moscato is a type of wine that uses a specific variety of grape – the Muscatel grape. It is worth noting that there is a type of rosé Moscato known as pink Moscato, however, there is also a white Moscato, so the two terms can’t be classed as the same thing.
What Is The Difference Between Rosé And Moscato?
Is rosé and Moscato the same thing? No. The main difference between rosé and Moscato is the fact that these are made using different grapes. There is a type of rosé Moscato, however, this is made using one type of grape – black Muscat. Other types of rosé can be made using different grape varieties. These often include carignan, cinsault, grenache, mourvèdre, pinot noir, sangiovese, and syrah.
Time To Pop A Cork
So there you have it! You now know the difference between rosé and Moscato wines.
Rosé is the term used to describe a wide variety of pink wines, and are often made using lots of different grape varietals.
As opposed to:
Moscato is a type of white wine made using Muscat or Moscatel grapes.
It is worth noting that there is a pink Moscato which is classed as a rosé wine, but this is made using a single specific type of grape.
You should also now know the main differences between the wide variety of rosé wines and white Moscato. This should give you a better indicator of which will be best for your needs. If you’re still in doubt, you can always opt for a pink Moscato to get the best of both worlds, or opt for a dry rosé if you don’t want to enjoy a sweet dessert wine.