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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 grape around the globe for many centuries. Their Wine color range from white (such as Muscat Ottonel), to yellow (Moscato Giallo), to pink (Moscato Rosa del Trentino) to near black (Black Muscat). 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.J. Robinson: Vines Grapes & Wines, p. 183. Mitchell Beazley 1986 .
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 wine sparkling wine Asti wine (also known as Moscato d'Asti) made in the Piedmont region. It is also used in the production of many of the French known as vin doux naturels. In Australian wine, 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 Redox with aroma notes of coffee, fruit cake, raisins and toffee.Wine & Spirits Education Trust: Wine and Spirits: Understanding Wine Quality, pp. 6–9, Second Revised Edition (2012), London, .
Muscat of Alexandria is another Muscat variety commonly used in the production of French vin doux naturel, but it is also found in Spanish wine, 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 wine and South Africa. In Alsace wine and parts of Central Europe, Muscat Ottonel is used to produce usually dry and highly perfumed wines.
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".
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.
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria, themselves, have crossed and have produced at least 14 different grape varieties, 5 of which are mostly cultivated in South America and 9 still found in Italy though none are of major use in wine production. More notable and widely planted offspring have come from Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria crossing with other grape varieties, such as the Argentine wine grapes of Cereza, Torrontés Riojano and Torrontés Sanjuanino, stemming from a cross of Muscat of Alexandria with " Listán negro" (also known as the "Mission grape")
Muscat of Alexandria has also been crossed with the German / Italian wine grape Trollinger (also known as " Schiava Grossa") to produce Muscat of Hamburg and Malvasia del Lazio, and with the Italian wine grapes Catarratto bianco and Bombino bianco to produce the Marsala wine grape Grillo and Moscatello Selvatico, respectively. Muscat Ottonel is the result of a crossing between one Muscat variety, " Muscat d'Eisenstadt" (also known as " Muscat de Saumur"), with the Swiss wine grape Chasselas
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains has been identified as one of the parent grapes of several varieties, though with which crossing partner is currently unknown. These include the Italian wine grapes Aleatico, Moscato Giallo (Yellow Moscato), Moscato rosa del Trentino (Pink Moscato of Trentino) and Moscato di Scanzo. DNA analysis was able to identify the Tuscan wine grape Mammolo as the second parent variety that crossed with Muscat blanc à Petits Grains to produce Muscat rouge de Madère (Red Muscat of Madère).
However, this common "musky" (French: musqué) trait has caused some confusion as varieties that are wholly unrelated to the Muscat family are often erroneously associated with Muscat grapes (often by naming and synonyms) due to their aromatic character. These include the German wine grape Morio Muskat which, despite its name, is not related to the Muscat family and is, instead, a crossing of Silvaner x Pinot blanc. Likewise, the highly aromatic clonal mutation of several wine grape varieties such as Sauvignon blanc, Chasselas and Chardonnay are often suffixed with Musqué which can add confusion to their relationship with the Muscat family. Additionally, the Bordeaux wine grape Muscadelle that is used for both sweet and dry wines is often mistaken for a Muscat variety due to its aromatic qualities. While made from a more aromatically neutral grape, Melon de Bourgogne grape, the Loire wine Muscadet is sometimes mistakenly believed to be made from a member of the Muscat family.
Lastly, the Muscat grape can be confused (in name only; the grapes themselves are quite different) with Vitis rotundifolia, which is commonly known as a "muscadine" grape.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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