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California Moscato/Muscat

Details: Moscato’s popularity has grown in recent years, and comes in styles varied enough to suit every taste. Muscat grapes produce table, sparkling and dessert wines, in shades of white, pink or red, ranging from dry to deliciously sweet. Traditionally, Italian winemakers used the grape to produce low-alcohol, spritzy white wines often poured as an aperitif. While today’s versatile wines pair well with many dishes, sparkling and late-harvest Moscatos are particularly good with fruit tarts or rich cheesecake.

The Muscat Grape

The Muscat grape has been grown around the Mediterranean for many centuries. In fact, Muscat Blanc may be the oldest known winegrape variety. Muscat grapes comes in wine, table and raisin varieties. In addition to Muscat Blanc, which makes the majority of wine in California, other Muscat varieties include Muscat of Alexandria, Orange Muscat, Muscat Gaillo, sometimes called Giallo, Diamond Muscat, and Summer Muscat. According to Nielsen Company U.S. Supermarket data, 5 percent of the wine sold by volume in U.S. food stores in 2016 was Moscato. The 2016 total crush for all California Muscat grapes came in at 200,602 tons, more than double that of 2011.

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Grape Crush Tonnage by Muscat Variety

Variety	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Muscat Blanc	23,465	36,649	51,548	45,516	25,968	26,369
Muscat of Alexandria	65,603	78,418	125,514	158,521	180,237	170,431
Muscat Orange	2,045	2,461	3,358	3,126	3,540	3,790
Moscato Gaillo	38	84	92	33	47	12
Summer Muscat	4	3	5	5	--	--
Diamond Muscat	194	122	8	6	--	--
TOTAL MUSCAT	91,349	117,737	180,525	207,207	209,792	200,602

Source: California Agricultural Statistics Service. Summer Muscat and Diamond Muscat not reported 2015 or 2016.