Muscat of Alexandria is a

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

that is a member of the Muscat family of ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern ...

''. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence.J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pg 185 Mitchell Beazley 1986 The grape originated in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and the name is probably derived from its association with

Ancient Egyptians Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower ...

who used the grape for wine making. It is also a

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption as fresh fruit, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, Juicing, juice production, jelly and jam making, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of e ...

used for eating and raisins. Muscat of Alexandria is cultivated very heavily on the island of

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

in the North Eastern Aegean region of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and reputedly

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

drank muscat wine from there. In

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

wine is made from the grape on the island of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...

, and it is grown in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

where it is known as ''Zibibbo''. In

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the grape is the sixth most planted white grape variety with grown in 2015, mainly in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. It is an important grape in the

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

and

South African wine South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and governor Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Product ...

industry.

Viticulture

The vine thrives in a hot climate and is particularly sensitive to the cold during its flowering season. In the northern hemisphere it is ripe in August, and is a seeded grape.

Wine characteristics

Wine made from Muscat of Alexandria has a distinctive taste of grapes, and was popular in the postwar era when tastes tended towards the sweet and uncomplicated. The vines are prolific producers but are very susceptible to powdery mildew and so are only grown in the most arid regions. Production was mainly in California, Australia and South Africa, but the wine styles originated in southern Europe and northern Africa, Turkey and the Levant. Much was used in the production of sherry and port as well as brandy, either distilled as brandy spirit or for base wine. As demand for these wines declined from the 1960s, gordo blanco was used to create still and sparkling wines using European-sounding labels like "Riesling", "Moselle" and "Champagne" and "Liebfrauwein" (until such use was banned by law and trade agreements) which bore only a stylistic resemblance to their inspiration. In Málaga the grape is often blended with

Pedro Ximénez Pedro Ximénez (also known as PX and many other variations; Andalusian Spanish, Andalusian pronunciation ) is the name of a white Spanish wine grape variety grown in several Spanish wine regions but most notably in the (DO) of Montilla-Moriles. ...

to create a strong wine that varies in color from gold to dark black. In Australia, the grape is used principally to increase the alcohol content in both white and red wines in a cool season, in wines sold as "Moscato", and in cheap bladder pack wines. In

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, ''

Vinho Moscatel Vinho () is a fine dining restaurant in Seoul, South Korea. It serves contemporary cuisine, with some dishes inspired by Korean cuisine. It first opened in May 2022, and received one Michelin star for 2024. The restaurant is led by chef Jeon Seo ...

'' (Moscatel Wine) is a sweet wine widely produced in the

Setúbal Peninsula The Setúbal Peninsula ( Portuguese: ) is a peninsula in the Lisbon Region of Portugal. The peninsula is named after one of its larger cities, Setúbal, and is bordered by three bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and southwest, the T ...

region, just south of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, as well as in

Favaios Favaios () is a civil parish of the municipality of Alijó, in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 1,064,

Alijó Alijó (), officially the Town of Alijó (), is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2021 was 10,486, in an area of 297.60 km2. History There are several megalithic structur ...

and other areas of the Portuguese

Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...

, in northern Portugal. In Bolivia, the grape has been used since at least the 1700s to make "

singani Singani is a Bolivian eau-de-vie or brandy distilled from white Muscat of Alexandria grapes. Only produced in the high valleys of Bolivia, it is the country's national distilled spirit and considered part of its Culture of Bolivia, cultural patri ...

," the distinctive wine brandy produced in the Cinti Valley and in the Central Valley of Tarija. C13-

norisoprenoid Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

s, such as 3-Oxo-α-ionol, are present in Muscat leaves.C13-Norisoprenoid Aglycon Composition of Leaves and Grape Berries from Muscat of Alexandria and Shiraz Cultivars. Ziya Günata, Jérémie L. Wirth, Wenfei Guo and Raymond L. Baumes, Carotenoid-Derived Aroma Compounds, Chapter 18, pages 255–261, Chapter , ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 802

References

{{Wines White wine grape varieties Table grape varieties Flora of Egypt