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Muscat (grape)
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Muscat (grape)
The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the Vitis vinifera species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many centuries. Their colors range from white (such as Muscat Ottonel), to yellow (Moscato Giallo), to pink (Moscato Rosa del Trentino) to near black (Muscat Hamburg). Muscat grapes and wines almost always have a pronounced floral aroma. The breadth and number of varieties of Muscat suggest that it is perhaps the oldest domesticated grape variety, and there are theories that most families within the Vitis vinifera grape variety are descended from the Muscat variety.
Among the most notable members of the Muscat family are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, which is the primary grape variety used in the production of the Italian sparkling wine Asti (also known as Moscato d'Asti) made in the Piedmont region. It is also used in the production of many of the French fortified wines known as vin doux naturels. In Australia, this is also the main grape used in the production of Liqueur Muscat, from the Victorian wine region of Rutherglen. Young, unaged and unfortified examples of Muscat blanc tend to exhibit the characteristic Muscat "grapey" aroma as well as citrus, rose and peach notes. Fortified and aged examples (particularly those that have been barrel aged) tend to be very dark in color due to oxidation with aroma notes of coffee, fruit cake, raisins and toffee.
Muscat of Alexandria is another Muscat variety commonly used in the production of French vin doux naturel, but it is also found in Spain, where it is used to make many of the fortified Spanish Moscatels. Elsewhere it is used to make off-dry to sweet white wines, often labeled as Moscato in Australia, California and South Africa. In Alsace and parts of Central Europe, Muscat Ottonel is used to produce usually dry and highly perfumed wines.
Theories about the origins of Muscat grapes date ancestors of the varieties back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians of early antiquity (c. 3000–1000 BC) while some ampelographers, such as Pierre Galet, believe that the family of Muscat varieties were propagated during the period of classical antiquity (c. 800 BC to 600 AD) by the Greeks and Romans. However, while domestic wine production had a long history in ancient Egypt and Persia and classical writers such as Columella and Pliny the Elder did describe very "muscat-like" grape varieties such as Anathelicon Moschaton and Apianae that were very sweet and attractive to bees (Latin apis), there is no solid historical evidence that these early wine grapes were members of the Muscat family.
The first documented mention of grapes called "muscat" was in the works of the English Franciscan scholar Bartholomeus Anglicus who wrote of wine made from Muscat grapes in his work De proprietatibus rerum written between 1230 and 1240 while Anglicus was studying in what is now modern Saxony in Germany. Anglicus' Latin work was translated into French in 1372 with the wine being described by Anglicus as "vin extrait de raisins muscats".
Because the exact origins of the Muscat family cannot be pinpointed, theories as to the origin of the name "Muscat" are numerous. The most commonly cited is that it is derived from the Persian word muchk. Similar etymology follows the Greek moskos, Latin muscus and French musc. In Italy, the Italian word mosca for fly could also be one possibility with the sweet aroma and high sugar levels of Muscat grapes attracting insects such as fruit flies.
Other theories suggest that the grape family originated in the West Asian country of Oman and was named after the city of Muscat located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. Another city that is sometimes suggested as a potential birthplace/namesake is the Greek city of Moschato, located southwest of Athens in Attica, with Moschato being a common synonym in Greece for Muscat varieties.
Of the more than 200 grape varieties sharing "Muscat" (or one of its synonyms) in their name, the majority are not closely related to each other. The exception are the members of the Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria families. In the early 21st century, DNA analysis showed that Muscat of Alexandria was, itself, a natural crossing of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and a black-skinned table grape variety from the Greek islands known as Axina de Tres Bias. Rarely seen outside of Greece, Axina de Tres Bias (also known as "Heftakilo") is also grown in Malta and Sardinia.
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Muscat (grape)
The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the Vitis vinifera species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many centuries. Their colors range from white (such as Muscat Ottonel), to yellow (Moscato Giallo), to pink (Moscato Rosa del Trentino) to near black (Muscat Hamburg). Muscat grapes and wines almost always have a pronounced floral aroma. The breadth and number of varieties of Muscat suggest that it is perhaps the oldest domesticated grape variety, and there are theories that most families within the Vitis vinifera grape variety are descended from the Muscat variety.
Among the most notable members of the Muscat family are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, which is the primary grape variety used in the production of the Italian sparkling wine Asti (also known as Moscato d'Asti) made in the Piedmont region. It is also used in the production of many of the French fortified wines known as vin doux naturels. In Australia, this is also the main grape used in the production of Liqueur Muscat, from the Victorian wine region of Rutherglen. Young, unaged and unfortified examples of Muscat blanc tend to exhibit the characteristic Muscat "grapey" aroma as well as citrus, rose and peach notes. Fortified and aged examples (particularly those that have been barrel aged) tend to be very dark in color due to oxidation with aroma notes of coffee, fruit cake, raisins and toffee.
Muscat of Alexandria is another Muscat variety commonly used in the production of French vin doux naturel, but it is also found in Spain, where it is used to make many of the fortified Spanish Moscatels. Elsewhere it is used to make off-dry to sweet white wines, often labeled as Moscato in Australia, California and South Africa. In Alsace and parts of Central Europe, Muscat Ottonel is used to produce usually dry and highly perfumed wines.
Theories about the origins of Muscat grapes date ancestors of the varieties back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians of early antiquity (c. 3000–1000 BC) while some ampelographers, such as Pierre Galet, believe that the family of Muscat varieties were propagated during the period of classical antiquity (c. 800 BC to 600 AD) by the Greeks and Romans. However, while domestic wine production had a long history in ancient Egypt and Persia and classical writers such as Columella and Pliny the Elder did describe very "muscat-like" grape varieties such as Anathelicon Moschaton and Apianae that were very sweet and attractive to bees (Latin apis), there is no solid historical evidence that these early wine grapes were members of the Muscat family.
The first documented mention of grapes called "muscat" was in the works of the English Franciscan scholar Bartholomeus Anglicus who wrote of wine made from Muscat grapes in his work De proprietatibus rerum written between 1230 and 1240 while Anglicus was studying in what is now modern Saxony in Germany. Anglicus' Latin work was translated into French in 1372 with the wine being described by Anglicus as "vin extrait de raisins muscats".
Because the exact origins of the Muscat family cannot be pinpointed, theories as to the origin of the name "Muscat" are numerous. The most commonly cited is that it is derived from the Persian word muchk. Similar etymology follows the Greek moskos, Latin muscus and French musc. In Italy, the Italian word mosca for fly could also be one possibility with the sweet aroma and high sugar levels of Muscat grapes attracting insects such as fruit flies.
Other theories suggest that the grape family originated in the West Asian country of Oman and was named after the city of Muscat located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. Another city that is sometimes suggested as a potential birthplace/namesake is the Greek city of Moschato, located southwest of Athens in Attica, with Moschato being a common synonym in Greece for Muscat varieties.
Of the more than 200 grape varieties sharing "Muscat" (or one of its synonyms) in their name, the majority are not closely related to each other. The exception are the members of the Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria families. In the early 21st century, DNA analysis showed that Muscat of Alexandria was, itself, a natural crossing of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and a black-skinned table grape variety from the Greek islands known as Axina de Tres Bias. Rarely seen outside of Greece, Axina de Tres Bias (also known as "Heftakilo") is also grown in Malta and Sardinia.
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