The "Muscat family" is highly populous, with more than 200 distinct members. The precise origins of
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains are not known, though
Greece and Italy can both make compelling cases due to the proliferation of clones, mutations and offspring. Today, the grape is found throughout the wine-producing world, making a wide range of wine, from light, sweet
sparkling and semi-sparkling
Asti and ''
Moscato d'Asti wine in the Piedmont wine region of Italy and Clairette de Die region of France, fortified vin doux naturels
(VdN) in southern France in AOC regions such as Muscat de Beaume de Venise, Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois and Muscat de Frontignan, fortified Liqueur Muscat in the Rutherglen wine region in Australia, to dry wines in the Wachau wine'' of Austria and
Südsteiermark. Nearly all the most notable sweet Muscats of Greece, particularly those from the island of
Samos and the city of
Patras on the
Peloponnese are made from
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains. In the
history of South African wine, the famous dessert wine of
Constantia was made from this variety of Muscat and while today Muscat of Alexandria is more widely planted in South Africa, producers around
Constantia are trying to reclaim some of the region's viticultural acclaim by replanting more
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and making wines in the style of the original Constantia.
Muscat of Alexandria While the grape's name harkens to the city of
Alexandria and suggest an ancient Egyptian origin, DNA analysis has shown that Muscat of Alexandria is the result of a natural crossing between
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and the Greek wine grape
Axina de Tres Bias. Though as
Axina de Tres Bias has also been historically grown in Sardinia and Malta, the precise location and origins of Muscat of Alexandria cannot be determined. Compared to
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria tends to produce large, moderately loose clusters of large oval-shaped berries that are distinctive from the much smaller, round berries of
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains. Like most Muscat varieties, Muscat of Alexandria is notable for being a desirable raisin and table grape. This is due in part to the grape's high tolerance of heat and drought conditions. While it is used in wine production (most notably on the island of
Pantelleria between
Sicily and
Tunisia, where it makes a
passito style
dessert wine under the name of "Zibibbo"), the grape lags far behind the reputation of
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains. This is partly because Muscat of Alexandria is very vigorous and prone to produce high
yields that can be easily overcropped as well as a more assertive aroma profile due to a higher concentration of the
monoterpene geraniol, which produces a
geranium scent, and lower concentration of
nerol with a more fresh, sweet
rose aroma. In France, Muscat of Alexandria is most prominent as a blending component (with
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains) in the VdN wines of
Muscat de Rivesaltes AOC in the
Roussillon wine region. The grape is the primary Muscat variety in Spain, where it is known as
Moscatel, though the majority of the country's plantings are used for table grapes and raisins, rather than for wine production. Likewise, in
Chile, and
Peru most of the Moscatel in both countries is used to produce the
distilled drink "
pisco". In South Africa, Muscat of Alexandria is known as "
Hanepoot and was the fourth-most widely planted white wine grape variety in the country until the early 2000s. While some of the plantings were used for wine production, particularly for fortified wine, many plantings were used for the production of
grape concentrate and raisins. In
California, there is still more plantings of Muscat of Alexandria than any other Muscat variety, with most of these grapes going into anonymous
jug wines from the
Central Valley. As in many other places in the world, the grape had a long history of use in the United States as a raisin variety, though in the 1920s, plantings of Muscat of Alexandria began to decline as producers turned to more popular
seedless grape varieties.
Muscat of Hamburg Even though the vast majority of the members of the Muscat family are dark skinned grapes, most of the major varieties used in wine production are white or "pale skinned", with the one significant exception of
Muscat of Hamburg, which is also known as
Black Muscat. This dark-skinned grape is believed to have originated in the
Victorian greenhouses of England, where it was first described in 1858 as being propagated by Seward Snow, gardener to the
Earl de Grey. Snow described the grape as a seedling that he created from crossing the Black Hamburg grape (an old synonym of
Schiava Grossa) with the White Muscat of Alexandria. In 2003, DNA analysis confirmed that Muscat of Hamburg was, indeed, a crossing of Muscat of Alexandria and Schiava Grossa, which makes the grape a full sibling to the central Italian grape
Malvasia del Lazio which has the same parentage. While Muscat of Hamburg is used mostly as a table grape throughout the world, there are two notable exceptions. The first is in California, where nearly all of the of Black Muscat in cultivation in 2009 were destined for wine production, primarily to produce dessert wines. The other exception is in
China, where Muscat of Hamburg is often crossed with
Vitis amurensis species that are native to the region to produce wine grapes that are better adapted to the climate of various Chinese wine regions.
Muscat Ottonel Like Muscat of Hamburg,
Muscat Ottonel is a relatively recent addition to the Muscat family, being bred in the
Loire Valley wine region of France in the 1850s. The grape is a cross of the
Swiss wine grape
Chasselas and ''
Muscat d'Eisenstadt (also known as Muscat de Saumur
). Of all of the major Muscat varieties, Muscat Ottonel'' has the most pale skin color, and tends to produce the most neutral wines and is also the grape variety that
ripens the earliest. While varieties such as Muscat of Alexandria tend to thrive in very warm
Mediterranean climates, Muscat of Ottonel has shown an affinity for ripening in cooler
continental climates, and has found a home in many Central European nations, such as
Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic,
Romania and many former republic of the
Soviet Union, such as
Russia,
Kazakhstan,
Moldova,
Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and
Ukraine. It is also the primary Muscat variety grown in the French region of
Alsace, where it is used to produce both dry and off-dry styles. In Austria, it is also the most widely planted Muscat variety, where it is used to produce
late-harvest wines around
Lake Neusiedl. == Other notable varieties ==