ITK,
You are totally with it. In fact, you may be ahead of the curve, as (at least here and in NYC) I am seeing dessert wines gaining popularity in nice restaurants. You do see muscat wines on lots of menus.
Muscatel can be "wino" wine, but so can just about any wine. There are $1000 bottles of chardonnay, for example, and there are $2 bottles.
If you can find a large, well-stocked liquor store, look in the dessert wine section. You may not be able to find the wine that you remember, but you can probably find something similar. If not wine, then maybe some Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry or red Dubonnet might suit you.
As far as your other insights ... "hear, hear" Happy T-giving