Morio Muscat (also known as ''Morio-Muskat'') is a white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

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 perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

that was created by viticulturalist Peter Morio at the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding in the Palatinate in 1928. He claimed to have crossed the varieties Silvaner and Pinot blanc, but based on the variety's properties it has been speculated that he actually crossed Silvaner and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains.Wein-Plus Glossar: Morio-Muskat
accessed on March 6, 2013. But so far this speculation has yet to be conclusively proven. The grape is highly aromatic with a "grapey" characteristic reminiscent of Muscat

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition, p. 453. Oxford University Press 2006 . The grape is rarely used for varietal wines because it requires a high level of

ripeness In United States law, ripeness refers to the readiness of a case for litigation; "a claim is not ripe for adjudication if it rests upon contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all." For example, if a ...

to avoid producing wine with a "mousey" flavor, a coarse texture and overabundance of acidity.Jancis Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wine'', p. 250. Octopus Publishing 1986 .

Origins

Viticulturalist Peter Morio created this grape variety from, what was reported as, Silvaner and Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc) as a potential blending partner for

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine R ...

and component in

Liebfraumilch ''Liebfraumilch'' or ''Liebfrauenmilch'' (, in reference to the Virgin Mary) is a style of semi-sweet white German wine which may be produced, mostly for export, in the wine region, regions Rheinhessen (wine region), Rheinhessen, Palatinate (wine ...

. Despite being the offspring of two grape varieties (Silvaner & Pinot blanc) that are not very aromatic, the Morio Muscat is a very aromatic grape variety with aromas more closely aligned with the Muscat family.

Wine regions

Morio Muscat remains the most popular "Muscat" in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, despite the possibility that the grape might not be a member of the Muscat family. The grape was used extensively in

in the 1970s as a blending companion to

to enhance the aroma of the latter, but has been in steep decline in recent years. In 2006 it was cultivated on of vineyard in Germany,German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2007-2008
. down from in 1999.German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2004-2005
. At its peak popularity, the grape was widely planted in the German wine regions of Palatinate and Rheinhessen. Outside of Germany, there are small plantings in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'', p. 139. Harcourt Books 2001 .

Viticulture

Morio Muscat has the potential to be a varietal wine but require ideal vineyard locations, similar to what would normally be planted with Silvaner, and has to be harvested at a point where its naturally low

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

levels and medium to high acidity are not out of balance. Common viticultural hazards include a sensitivity to rot with the grape often needing at least an extra week to ripen after Müller-Thurgau has been harvested. It also has some sensitivity to downy mildew and oidium.

Synonyms

The only synonyms of Morio Muscat, other than the alternative spelling Muscat or Muskat, is its breeding code I-28-30 or Geilweilerhof I-28-30.Morio Muskat

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

, accessed 3 December 2010.

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties