No Gin And Juice For Rappers: It's All Moscato
Moscato, that sweet, easy-drinking wine perfect for summer, is the fastest growing varietal in the country with sales increasing 70 percent since 2011.
If this kind of growth continues, moscato could blow past sauvignon blanc and white zinfandel to become the sixth-most popular varietal wine.
How did a simple, fizzy, low-alcohol white wine snag the spotlight?
With a little help from Nelly, Ab-Soul, Gucci Mane, and Soulja Boy.
True dat. Rap and hip-hop artists have glommed on to the varietal like hot pants on a fly girl. The trend seems to have started in 2009 with Trey Songz's "I Invented Sex" featuring Drake: "It's a celebration, clap, clap, bravo/lobster and shrimp and a glass of moscato/for the girl who's a student and her friend who's a model/Finish the whole bottle."
We don't agree with the pairing, but the drinkability of moscato is undeniable. So many artists have dropped its praises in their rhymes that the wine has been a must-have mixer in hip-hop clubs, prompting the first-ever rap-branded wine, Freaky Muscato, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Helmed by Nelly's St. Louis crew, the St. Lunatics, the peachy, slightly sparkling moscato clocks in at just 11.5 percent alcohol and is made "for those who live freaky and fresh."
We can't wait to try P. Diddy Pinot.