The Muscat is a popular grape variety grown widely in Italy for wines, raisins, and grapes for eating. There are in fact many different types of Muscat grape grown, with colors ranging from white to almost black. Muscat wines are characterized by pungent floral aromas and sweet, spicy flavors and are used as dessert wines.
History of Muscat Grapes & Wine
Some speculate that Muscat might be one of the earliest grape varieties to be domesticated, but it was at any rate one of the first varieties known to produce noble wine.
Northern Italian Moscato
Although Muscat grapes are used most often to create thick, sweet dessert wines, Muscat grapes in Northern Italy are partially fermented and go through a natural carbonation process to produce sparkling wines. These wines are light-bodied, sweet, and full of the aromas of honeysuckle and apricots. The best sparkling Muscats are called Moscato d'Asti, known in America simple as Asti.
