It’s a galaxy to him alone so it designates wines and grapes of all colors. In the vineyards, the muscat gathers between 150 and 200 different grape varieties. Start with the one who is eaten, that you surely have crossed on the stalls, the Muscat de Hamburg. It occupies a place apart in the vast family since it is red, with large bays spaced on the cluster, and it is not used to produce wine.
In the wine medium, the most common is the white muscrate with small grains. It is also one of the oldest grapes grown for wine. In France, it is already quoted under Charlemagne for the quality of its production. It is native to ancient Greece, where we still use it today for sweet wines, including the very popular Muscat de Samos. It is found in Germany from the XII e century (under the name of Muskateller), but also in Italy, with the Noscato d’Asti, Switzerland (in Valais) and until Hungary.
The muscat of Alexandria is another famous variety. Waved by the Romans around the Mediterranean, it is found today until Australia where it carries the diminutive “Lexia”. In France, it is mainly used in assembly, especially in the Roussillon. In Spain, it is used to produce the Moscatell, Portugal the Setubal Moscatel. And it is naturally found in Italy, especially on the islands of Sicily and Pantelleria, where it produces straw wines (whose grapes are dry on a sweet straw mat. There is also the Syrian muscat, the Muscat de Cyprus and many others present in France.
The Ottonel muscat, finally, is much more recent, created by a hybridization of muscat and chasselas in the middle of the nineteenth e century. Today, it is used in Alsace, in assembly with small grain muscat, to produce the muscat of Alsace, dry wine or liquorous according to the date of harvest.
The muscate represents in France seven natural wines appellations: the muscat of Frontignan, that of Lunel, Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, Mireval (all in Languedoc), the muscat of Rivesaltes (in the Roussillon ), Beaumes-de-Venice (in the Rhône) and Cap Corse.
So what is the common point between all muscrats? These are usually sweet or sweet wines, the low acidity, which recognizes their “musculated” aromas. Very intense, they would evoke musk, but recognize themselves especially by very characteristic perfumes of fresh or dry or dry grapes, but close to its original fruit.
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