Muscat

While the bulk of Muscat plantings occur in California’s Central Valley, as the economic metrics of the Muscat grape do not permit it to take up more expensive vineyard land and crop space from other “higher value” grapes, one can nevertheless find the various Muscat grapes in many parts of the state in more diminutive quantities. 

Muscat Around The World

Muscat grapes, in one form or another, are grown in every important wine-producing country in the world. In addition to producing outstanding varietal wines, Muscat is used extensively in the production of a wide range of blended wines and is the basis for Pisco, a unique brandy made in Chile and Peru, and Metaxa, a grape brandy from Greece. 

Beyond the glass, Muscats count among the few notable wine grapes that are also commonly eaten both fresh and dried (as raisins). Many Muscats look more like a table crop on the vine, with big, juicy grapes. Although Petits Grains translates to “small berries,” in most regions, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (aka Muscat Blanc) is only small-berried within the realm of Muscats; by other standards, it is quite large. Wine professionals will often refer to Muscat’s distinctive “grapey” flavor, a descriptor applied to few other vinifera varieties. While this character may derive from several sources—certain Muscat wines, like Italy’s Moscato d’Asti, are effectively barely fermented must (grape juice and solids)

MUSCAT BLANC

• France: Languedoc (Muscat de Lunel, Muscat de Côtes du Mireval, Muscat Frontignan and St-Jean de Minervois), Rhône Valley (Beaumes de Venise), Roussillon (Muscat de Rivesaltes), Corsica
• Italy: Piedmont (Asti)
• North Africa: Tunisia
• Australia: Victoria (Rutherglen)
• South Africa: Coastal Region (Constantia)
• Other: Cyprus
• The Americas: Canada (British Columbia), Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil (Farroupilha)
• USA (beyond CA): Oregon, Washington, Virginia

MUSCAT ALEXANDRIA

• France: Roussillon (Muscat de Rivesaltes)
• Italy: Pantelleria
• Other European countries:  Portugal (Setubal), Spain (Canary Islands, Alicante, Valencia, Jerez, Málaga, La Mancha), Greece (Límnos), Turkey
• Australia: Victoria (Rutherglen)
• South Africa: Coastal region (Constantia, Olifants River, Breedekloof)
• Other countries: Israel, Tunisia
• The Americas: Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Mexico

MUSCAT GIALLO

• Italy: Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Friuli, Sicily
• Other European countries:  Croatia, Switzerland (Valais), Slovenia, Germany (Pfalz)
• Australia: Victoria (Rutherglen)
• South Africa: Coastal region (Constantia)

MUSCAT ORANGE

• Italy: Veneto
• Other European countries: France 
• Australia: Victoria (Rutherglen, Beechworth, Glenrowan, Goulburn Valley and King Valley)

MUSCAT HAMBURG

• European countries: Cyprus, Greece (Thessalía), Serbia, North Macedonia, Russia, France (Ventoux), Italy, Germany
• Australia: Victoria (Rutherglen)
• Other countries: China, South Africa
• The Americas: Brazil (Farroupilha), Canada (Vancouver Island)
• USA (beyond CA): Virginia, Oregon, Texas, and Washington

MUSCAT OTTONEL

• France: Alsace
• Austria: Niederösterreich, Burgenland
• Other European countries:  Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Czech Republic, Moldova, Crimea, Ukraine, Moldova
• Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
• Africa: South Africa
• Australia
• The Americas: Canada (British Columbia)
• USA (beyond CA): New York, Oregon, Virginia