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The Muscat family of grapes include over 200 grape varieties belonging to the ''Vitis vinifera'' species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many centuries. Their colors ranges from white (such as Muscat Ottonel), to yellow (Moscato Giallo), to pink (Moscato rosa del Trentino) to near black (Muscat Hamburg). Muscat grapes and wines almost always have a pronounced sweet floral aroma. The breadth and number of varieties of Muscat suggest that it is perhaps the oldest domesticated grape variety, and there are theories that most families within the ''Vitis vinifera'' grape variety are descended from the Muscat variety.〔J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pg 183 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ISBN 1-85732-999-6〕 Among the most notable members of the Muscat family include Muscat blanc à Petits Grains which is the main grape variety used in the production of the Italian sparkling wine Asti (also known as ''Moscato Asti'') made in the Piedmont region. It is also used in the production of many of the French fortified wines known as ''vin doux naturels''. In Australia, this is also the main grape used in the production of Liqueur Muscat from the Victorian wine region of Rutherglen. Young, unaged and unfortified examples of Muscat blanc tend to exhibit the characteristic Muscat "grapey" aroma as well as citrus, rose and peach notes. Fortified and aged examples (particularly those that have been barrel aged), tend to be very dark in color due to oxidation with aroma notes of coffee, fruit cake, raisins and toffee.〔Wine & Spirits Education Trust ''"Wine and Spirits: Understanding Wine Quality"'' pgs 6-9, Second Revised Edition (2012), London, ISBN 9781905819157〕 Muscat of Alexandria is another Muscat variety commonly used in the production of French ''vin doux naturel'', but it is also found in Spain, where it is used to make many of the fortified Spanish Moscatels. Elsewhere it is used to make off-dry to sweet white wines, often labeled as ''Moscato'' in Australia, California and South Africa. In Alsace and parts of Central Europe, Muscat Ottonel is used to produce usually dry and highly perfumed wines.〔 ==History== Theories about the origins of Muscat grapes date ancestors of the varieties back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians of early antiquity (c. 3000-1000 BCE) while some ampelographers, such as Pierre Galet, believe that the family of Muscat varieties were propagated during the period of classical antiquity (c. 800 BCE to 600 CE) by the Greeks and Romans. However, while domestic wine production had a long history in ancient Egypt and Persia and classical writers such as Columella and Pliny the Elder did describe very "muscat-like" grape varieties such as ''Anathelicon Moschaton'' and ''Apianae'' that were very sweet and attractive to bees (Latin ''apis''), there is no solid historical evidence that these early wine grapes were members of the Muscat family.〔J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 678-696 Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2〕 The first documented mention of grape called "muscat" was in the works of the English Franciscan scholar Bartholomeus Anglicus who wrote of wine made from Muscat grapes in his work ''De proprietatibus rerum'' written between 1230-1240 while Anglicus was studying in what is now modern Saxony in Germany. Anglicus' Latin work was translated into French in 1372 with the wine being described by Anglicus as ''"vin extrait de raisins muscats"''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Muscat (grape)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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