Muscat de Rivesaltes () is an ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

'' (AOC) for

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Command ...

s (of the type '' vin doux naturel'') made in the

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

wine region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. They are similar to Rivesaltes AOC wines, except for the grape varieties used.Wine Doctor: Roussillon Wine Guide Part 2
accessed April 6, 2010 The wines are white, and made from Muscat d'Alexandrie and Muscat à Petits Grains

grapes 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 ...

, usually in equal quantities, although the appellation rules allow these varieties to be used in any proportion. The alcohol content must be at least 15 per cent by volume, the

potential alcohol Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice (must) and, hence, indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar.glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

and

fructose Fructose (), or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and gal ...

) of the finished wine at least 100 grams per liter. The AOC was created in 1956. The wine is usually served as an aperitif but in Rivesaltes ville and the surrounding area is commonly drunk by the glass in bars and cafes. A popular local starter is

foie gras ; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding). ''Foie gras'' i ...

served with a glass of Muscat de Rivesaltes.

Muscat de Noël

Muscat de Noël is a designation for young Muscat de Rivesaltes marketed for the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

(''Noël'') season in its harvest year. Muscat de Rivesaltes with the additional designation Muscat de Noël can be marketed from November 1 in its harvest year, while regular Muscat de Rivesaltes can be marketed from February 1 in the year following the harvest.

References

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Muscat de Noël

See also

References