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A Brief History of Muscat Wine
Muscat, pronounced [MUHS-kat], is thought to be the oldest variety of grape in the world with a family of over 200 different derivatives known today. Also called Moscato in Italy and Moscatel in Spain, the Muscat grape is sweet and fruity with a rich, musky aroma, just as its name implies.
Muscat grapes are used primarily for table wines in Chile, sweet sparkling wines (such as Asti) in Italy and sweet dessert wines in California.
Common Varieties of Muscat Grapes
The six varieties of Muscat grapes that are most well known are the following:
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Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, or Muscat Blanc for short, is thought to be the oldest known variety with the most concentrated grape flavors. It is used to produce the sparkling wine Asti Spumante.
When making Spumante, the grapes are crushed and kept cold in tanks. As they are needed, the juice and crushed grapes are warmed and the fermentation is allowed to begin. The product is sealed in large tanks where the carbon dioxide is trapped in the wine.
As the perfect alcohol and sugar levels are reached, the wine is quickly chilled to stop the fermentation process. It is then filtered, bottled and corked. Spumante is born!
- Moscato Giallo, also known as Goldmuskateller, and Moscato Rosa or Rosenmuskateller, varieties are similar colored versions of the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grape.
- Muscat Hamburg, also called Black Muscat, is a grape reserved for eating in Italy and Australia. It is also used to produce red wines in eastern European countries.
- Muscat of Alexandria, which goes by many different names, is used to make sherry and other liqueurs. It is thought to date back to Egyptian times. These grapes are low in acid and high in sugar, which tends to produce a lower quality of wine. Because of this, many Alexandria grapes end up as table grapes or raisins.
- Muscat Ottonel, known as Moskately, is used in making dessert wines and is grown in cooler climates.
- Orange Muscat, with its obvious orange aroma, is a variety mainlyused inCalifornia dessert wines.
Properties of the Muscat Grape
Because so many varieties of Muscat grapes are grown, the hues vary greatly from white and brown to almost black. The Muscat Blanc grape, in spite of its name, is not always white. It's no wonder, then, that this variety of grapes is used for a broad range of wines, from dry and light to sweet and heavy.
Muscat grapes are grown in temperate climates such as Australia, California, France, Greece, Italy and Spain and are harvested late, when they are very ripe, making them exceptionally sweet.
The Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains grape can be either white or pink and even a dark reddish-brown. Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is a delicate wine produced from this grape in the southern Rhone region.
Popular Muscat Producers
Here are a few of the most popular producers of Muscat wines:
- Domaine De Durban is known to be one of the best producers of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. Situated in the hills, east of the village of Beaumes de Venise, Domaine De Durban produces the famous "Vin doux naturel." It is the only region of the Rhone Valley where the Muscat grape is grown for this deliciously legendary wine.
- Riverina, of New South Wales, harvests the majority of the state's grape crop, and boastfully creates the temptingly sweet dessert wine, Botrytis Semillon.
No matter what your taste, sweet or dry, you will find that the broad term Muscat refers to a diverse group of over 200 varieties. Found in countries all over the world each shares a bit of its country's unique culture.
