Word on the Vine: Muscat

The most aromatic of grapes is perfectly suited to the season's rich flavours

THE GRAPE

This ancient family of aromatic grapes – Pliny the Elder referred to it in the 1st century – is generally used to make sweet wine. The most notable member of the family is muscat blanc à petits grains, a small, light-skinned white grape that makes some of France’s premium fortified dessert wines, including Muscat de Beaumesde-Venise. This same grape is behind Greece’s long history of sweet muscats and, as moscato, underpins Italy’s sparkling spumante industry.

THE TASTE

It’s one of the very few grapes thatmakes wine that actually tastes like the fruit. This intense grape flavour is often accompanied by stone fruit and heady perfumes of orangeflowers and rose. Fortified styles deliver opulent sweetness with layers of honey and spice that can age magnificently. Lighter sparkling versions, such as Piedmont’s Moscato d’Asti, have a delicate sweetness with gentle effervescence.

THE PAIRINGS

While the French have traditionallyserved sweet muscats as a chilled apéritif, northern Europeans have tended to enjoy them with dessert. They work at either end of the meal: with chicken liver pâté on crackers pre-dinner or with a starter of foie gras with brioche, or for pudding with fruit salads, mild cheeses –and Christmas pudding. The gentlesparkle of Moscato d’Asti makes itideal with sorbets and fresh fruitwhere its sweetness won’t overwhelm.

THE VINES

Muscat thrives in hot climates butbenefits from altitude or maritimeinfluence to retain freshness. Primeterritories include France’s sun-baked southern Rhône, the Greek islands, northern Italy’s hills and Australia’s inland regions, where fortified styles reach extraordinary concentration.

This article was taken from the Christmas 2025 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.