What is Muscat?

Muscat is unique among wine grapes because it actually tastes like grapes — specifically, like fresh table grapes. While most wine grapes develop flavours that bear no resemblance to the fruit itself (nobody describes Cabernet as 'grapey'), Muscat retains that unmistakable grape-juice character along with perfumed floral notes.

The family is enormous — over 200 related varieties — but two matter most for fine wine. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains ('small berries') is the aristocrat, producing Alsace's dry Muscat, Italy's beloved Moscato d'Asti, and the sweet fortified wines of southern France. Muscat of Alexandria is more widely planted in warmer regions and tends toward richer, more honeyed styles.

Moscato d'Asti from Piedmont might be the most underrated wine style in the world. At just 5-5.5% alcohol with a gentle fizz, it's essentially the wine equivalent of biting into a perfect white peach on a summer day. Dismiss it as simple if you like, but try serving it with fresh fruit or a light dessert and you'll understand its charm.

For something completely different, seek out Rutherglen Muscat from Australia. These fortified wines are aged for decades in a solera-like system, developing extraordinary flavours of toffee, raisin, chocolate, and cold-brewed coffee. The rarest examples (labelled 'Rare Muscat') are among the most concentrated wines made anywhere.

Alsace Muscat is the go-to pairing for asparagus — one of wine's most notoriously difficult food matches. The grape's fresh, grapey aromatics and dry style complement the vegetable's green, slightly bitter character beautifully.