Muscat a petits grains - wine grape variety

Muscat a petits grains is the official French name for this variety and means simply Muscat with small berries. The Spanish name Moscatel Menudo has a similar meaning. The names Muscat de Frontignan and Muscat d'Alsace, used in the parts of France concerned, are not acceptable to the Office International de la Vigne et du Vin for use elsewhere because they refer to place names. This also applies to the Italian names Moscato d'Asti and Moscato di Canelli. Rather surprisingly, the corruption Fron-tignac may be used. There are three colour variants of the variety — white, rose and red. The coloured forms seem to mutate readily from one to the other and to white, but there seem to be two types of white — one which is stable and one which mutates readily to the coloured forms. Possibly chimaeras, in which the genetic make up of the berry skin differs from that of the flesh, are involved.

The white form seems to predominate in Europe, mostly as the stable type. There are 3000 ha in France, probably about the same in Italy where the official name is Moscato Bianco, as well as plant-ings in other Mediterranean countries. The name Muscat Blanc in California, where there are 485 ha, seems to indicate that only the white form is used there and the 400 ha in Argentina are listed as Moscato d'Asti among the white varieties. In South Africa, on the other hand, most of the 1020 ha of Muskadel, as the variety is known there, are of the red form.

There are 330 ha of Muscat a petits grains in Australia, nearly half of them in South Australia, and nearly all of the rest evenly divided between Victoria and New South Wales. A fair proportion is the red form and the name Brown Muscat used in north-east Victoria is very appropriate.

Muscat a petits grains is moderate in vigour and more or less erect in growth. It has small to medium, 3-lobed leaves with sharp angular teeth and hairs only along the veins on the lower surface. Bunches are medium, more or less cylindrical but broader at the top, well filled to compact. The berries are medium or a little less, round, with a strong muscat flavour, bronzing where exposed to the sun. The white form has yellowish green berries and the rose is intermediate between that and the red, which is illustrated. The fruit ripens early and if left on the vine wilts to give a very high sugar concentration.

Even the red form of Muscat a petits grains does not have enough colour to make a red wine. However, the variety can be used to make a range of excellent wines, from highly flavoured sparkling wines to luscious fortified wines. It can also be used to accentuate the flavour of dry white wines made from other varieties.