There is only one species of grape from Europe; vitis vinifera. This species includes the wine grapes that you know such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc. Yet there are hundreds of different species of grapes in the Americas, like vitis labrusca and vitis riparia. This includes the table grapes like Concord. But why is that? Well, one theory is this! Most mountain ranges in the Americas go east to west, while most mountain ranges in Europe go north to south. Grape vines were able to ride glaciers in the western hemisphere and spread, while in the eastern hemisphere they became trapped in uninhabitable mountains, and most species become extinct.
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
The one grape vine species to survive in the east was vitis vinifera. What was the one cultivar family from that species whom managed to survive and is the ancestor of all of the families that we know today? It's very likely Muscat! And the member of that family that is the oldest is Moscato Bianco!
So it's true that Muscat has been around for a very long time. Longer than we've been cultivating grapes! The name Muscat does derive from "musk", as that is one of its common characteristics. But its fruit also gives off such a perfumed aroma that they attract bees, thus the ancient Greeks called it anathelicon moschaton (grape of the bees).
There are over 200 different grapes in the Muscat family, four of them are considered principal, but the oldest and the one you're going to see the most of is Moscato Bianco (AKA Moscato di Canelli, AKA Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), and commonly referred to as just Moscato. It's grown in France, Australia, and the US, but it is one of the most planted grapes in Italy.
Moscato Bianco can make sparkling, semi-sparkling, still wines, and even dessert wines. But they all tend to be sweet or semi-sweet with notes of succulent peaches, apricot, orange blossom, and honeysuckle. I happen to be a huge fan of Moscato! It's lip smackingly delicious and it doesn't want to be taken seriously. It's meant to be fun!
Let's go over the different forms of Italian Moscato. You've heard of Asti Spumante, right? Well, the word Spumante (Italian for sparkling) has been dropped and now it's just called Asti (the name of the region in Piedmont, Italy, that it's from). Asti is a full-on sparkling wine with four atmospheres of pressure. Moscato d'Asti (Moscato of Asti) is frizzante (semi-sparkling) with 2.5 atmospheres of pressure, which is why it can be topped with a screwcap. Then there is just Moscato, which is still. It could be from Asti. Or it could be sparkling, semi-sparkling, or still from anywhere else in Italy or the world.
In Australia it's used to make their dessert wines that they call "stickies". And Brazil is having surprising success making wines from Moscato right now.
About a decade ago, Moscato saw the largest seemingly over-night growth in popularity than any other varietal in history. It made the Malbec boom look silly. This was because of pop culture, with many popular musicians singing and rapping about Moscato in their songs. Now, Moscato comes in all sorts of fruit flavors, too. We carry one called Caposaldo Peach Moscato that is one of my guilty pleasure.
90+ CELLARS MOSCATO d'ASTI
Moscato d'Asti is sweet but even those who claim to not like sweet wines will love it! 90+ Cellars Lot 134 Moscato d'Asti has a light fizz and features succulent peaches, pears, and honey. Pairing: DESSERT!
Joey Casco
Beverage Marketer
Certified Specialist of Wine
Certified Specialist of Spirits
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