Moscato and Gin. You heard me.

Don’t try this at home. Oh OK, go on.

We recently visited a slew of wineries in the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. I love winery territory and not just because one can deploy husbando for chauffeur duty and get sloshed on top shelf cellar door tastings.

OK, that’s the main reason, but wineries are generally in the most picturesque of regions, awash with verdant rolling hills stuffed full of grapevines and corrugated iron-walled cellar doors.

At Wirra Wirra winery, I asked for a tasting of the Mrs Wigley moscato, this being my new summer drink of choice, thanks to mother-in-law and her penchant for sweet, slightly bubbly low-alcohol wines.

The cellar door technician (?!) poured the wine and said suddenly, “Wait! I’ll show you a little trick”! I was bemused at first, hoping his trick was “above board” shall we say. He did seem a bit keen.

He disappeared and returned with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire and poured half a capful of the gin into the glass. I watched, transfixed (gin generally having that effect on me).

The gin (and you only need a little bit) cuts through the sweetness of the moscato, creating a most delightful sensation. And what is ordinarily a low alcohol bevvy is transformed into something that will get you where you need to go very fast.

Bottoms up!