Muscat Ottonel - wine grape variety

Muscat Ottonel is an early ripening variety grown in Austria, Germany and in Alsace in France. The major plantings are in Austria where there were 1371 ha planted in 1981. There were 429 ha planted in France in 1988, down slightly from the 447 ha in 1979 but considerably more than the 192 ha recorded in 1968. There is very little grown in Australia. Muscat Ottonel was propagated from a seedling by Robert Moreau and its parents are uncertain although probably Chasselas X Muscat de Saumur.

Opening buds are cottony, reddish and full. The young leaves are glabrous, shiny and very red. Leaves are small, orbicular and puckered. The petiolar sinus is a narrow lyre shape with the lobes sometimes overlapping. The teeth are pointed and medium in size. The veins on the lower surface are lightly hairy and uneven. The shoots are glabrous and violet tinged where exposed to the sun, the tendrils are very long like those of Chasselas. Bunches are small and loose. The berries are round, medium in size, yellow in colour when ripe with a subtle muscat flavour.

In Australia both yields and sugar levels have been low. However, the wines have an attractive, delicate muscat flavour and have been rated highly by taste panels.