Ghalib, the great Urdu poet whose fondness for mangoes I have already written about earlier, was also extremely partial to the odd tipple. (It's probably fair to say his weakness was habitual as many of his contemporaries considered him a drunk!)
Ghalib was once asked whether he was a Muslim and he replied, 'I am half Muslim. I don't eat pork but I drink alcohol.'
I guess he is not alone in being half Muslim. I keep running into more and more of us half-Muslims out there.
I am no wine connoisseur but I can certainly appreciate a nice wine when I taste one. And recently, my (insubordinate) half discovered the joys of Muscat dessert wines.
The grape variety always fascinated me given my fondness of the Omani capital of Muscat. Even though I cannot find any link between Muscat, Oman and the origin of the Muscat grape, I still had to try the wine.
Being a tad stingy, I 'splurged' on a cheap Australian Long Flat Red Moscato 2008 a few days ago. It was not a chore to finish the bottle - I enjoy my desserts even in liquid form! Drinking varied types of Muscat grape wines is now on my 'to do' list.
I highly recommend trying Muscat grape juice to my non-Muslim, half-Muslim and, dare I say it, to my Muslim friends.
Posts
