Muscat Grape variety guide: history, French regions, taste & food pairing
Muscat is a large family of aromatic grapes and the only wine grape whose wines truly taste of fresh grapes. In France it produces everything from dry, perfumed Alsace whites to sweet fortified Vins Doux Naturels and sparkling Clairette de Die.
Learn more about Muscat
History & origins
Muscat is one of the most ancient grape families, likely spread around the Mediterranean by Greek and Phoenician traders. The main French members are Muscat à Petits Grains, the finest; Muscat d'Alexandrie, larger-berried and grown in Roussillon; and Muscat Ottonel, a 19th-century cross grown in Alsace.
French regions & appellations
Muscat d'Alsace, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Muscat de Rivesaltes, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat de Mireval, Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, Muscat du Cap Corse and Clairette de Die.
Taste profile
Unmistakably grapey, with orange blossom, rose, lychee, peach, apricot, citrus peel and honey; light and dry or rich and sweet.
Food pairing
Dry: asparagus, Thai and Indian dishes, aperitifs. Sweet: fruit tarts, melon, peach desserts, panna cotta, blue cheese and foie gras.
Where Muscat grows in France
Wine regions: Alsace, Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence
Appellations: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alsace, IGP Méditerranée, IGP Pays d'Hérault, IGP Île de Beauté