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The Many, Many Names of Muscat
Grown far and wide throughout the wine world, Muscat is, sadly, misunderstood. Enchantingly floral, seductively spicy, and remarkably versatile, Muscat is so much more than just the cheap sweet wines with which so many people identify the grape.
Or I should say grapes, rather. Indeed, Muscat is not one, single grape variety, but a larger smattering of hundreds. Some are related, others are not—and to make matters more confusing the key varieties go by a huge assortment of aliases across the many countries where they are cultivated.
Let’s break things down and get reacquainted with Muscat, one of the most astonishingly complex and sumptuously delicious groups of grapes.
What makes a Muscat a Muscat?
The name Muscat is said to derive from the musk deer. The musk deer, any of seven species in the genus Moschus, is native to southern Asia and makes its home in the forests of the Himalayan Mountains. Male musk deer were historically hunted by the perfume industry. Perfumeries prized their musk glands, which secrete an attractive musky floral aroma through the ketone muscone.
Muscat varieties feature analogous compounds in the form of monoterpenes. Formed by a five-carbon isoprene structure, the monoterpenes found in high quantities in many Muscat grapes are responsible for their highly expressive, flamboyant floral character. The most important monoterpenes in Muscat are cis-rose oxide, geraniol, and linalool, which smell approximately like roses, geranium, and lavender, respectively.
The Major and Minor Muscats
More than 200 grape varieties feature “Muscat” somewhere in their name. While many of these cultivars are indeed related, others are not and simply resemble one another organoleptically. The two most important Muscats for fine wine are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria.
muscat blanc à petits grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a particularly ancient grape, as well as arguably the most revered of Muscat varieties. It is believed to originate from either Greece or Italy, but has long been grown throughout the Mediterranean Basin, as well as further north in cooler climate regions of Europe. While characteristically floral, it is also more finessed than many Muscat grapes. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains also has a pigmented variation that is commonly grown for fortified wines in Australia.
muscat of alexandria
Muscat of Alexandria is the direct progeny of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. While also quite old, it is unlikely to actually come from Alexandria, Egypt, as its name would suggest. Muscat of Alexandria has larger berries than its parent and is said to produce juicier and more rustically herbaceous wines. The variety thrives in arid Mediterranean climates, and has significant plantings in California and South America. In Argentina, it also birthed the Torrontés varieties, which bear many similarities to the Muscats.
In addition to Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria, several additional Muscat grapes enjoy commercial significance. These include:
Muscat Ottonel—
A white Muscat grown largely in France and Central and Eastern Europe, where it is a common blending partner with Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains in both sweet and dry wines.
Muscat Giallo—
A “yellow” Muscat cultivated for a host of styles in Italy’s Collei Euganei appellation.
Muškát Moravský—
A white Muscat variety unique to the Czech Republic.
Muscat of Hamburg—
A red Muscat variety grown largely for table grapes, but also used to produce sweet reds.
Muscat Bailey A—
A red Muscat that producers rosy light wines in Japan.
Muscat’s Dramatic Range
Very few grape varieties can claim as diverse a range of expressions as Muscat. Nearly every imaginable style of wine is made by some Muscat—and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains alone can claim most of them.
sparkling muscat
The most famous sparkling Muscats are, without question, Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante. Both born in Northern Italy’s Piedmont, these beloved bubbles distinguish themselves from the wide sea of Champagne copycats that comprise so many sparkling wines. Instead they lead with Muscat’s signature floral perfume and are made in the Charmat method, akin to Prosecco. Moscato d’Asti especially can be extraordinarily refined, despite being overlooked as simply sweet. Low in alcohol and high in sugar, the best examples make for a rare great sparkling dessert wine. Muscat is also made in the traditional Champagne method, with secondary fermentation in bottle and extended aging on its lees. Perhaps the most classic example is Clairette de Die, a sparkling wine from France’s Rhône Valley made predominately from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains.
dry muscat
While many consumers equate Muscat with sweetness, this is a grave error. Many of the finest still Muscat wines of the world are bone dry. Most classic are the great dry Muscats of Alsace. The finest grow side-by-side with Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace’s grand cru vineyards and demonstrate the capacity to age gracefully for decades. Similarly styled, top shelf wines come from across the border in Germany, as well as in Austria, where they are labeled as Muskateller. Although the French, German, and Austrian examples may appear most abroad, the tradition of dry Muscat wines extends to Central and Eastern Europe with outstanding bottles originating through. From the Temjanikas and Tamjanka of North Macedonia and Serbia to the Muskotálys of Hungary, Muscat wines delight drinkers across borders under all their names. Further afield, beautiful and delicate, but still intoxicatingly perfumed, dry red Muscat wines are made in Japan, were the rare variety Muscat Bailey A is a local specialty.
sweet muscat
In its dessert forms alone, Muscat is astonishingly wide ranging. Muscats thrive in late harvest styles, in which grapes are allowed to hang longer on the vine and begin to dehydrate paste traditional ripeness. This method allows for the great vendange tardive (literally “late harvest”) wines of Alsace, many examples in California, and a great South African specialty from the historic Constantia region. In Greece and Italy, Muscat grapes are dried in the sun after harvest to accelerate the raisination process, having the similar effect of concentration the wine’s sugars. Rarer for Muscat is botrytis, the fungus responsible for noble rot and the great dessert wines of Sauternes. Nevertheless, examples in Germany, Austria, and France exist, as well as in Hungary where Sárga Muskotály is an important blending variety for the great Tokaji Aszú. Lastly, fantastic examples of fortified Muscat are produced in every corner of the globe, from Greece’s island of Samos and France’s vins doux naturels to the treacly Moscatel Sherries in Spain and Australia’s “stickies” in Rutherglen.
Wines Featured In This Guide
