Viticultural Information
Muscat blanc
Description
Species: Vitis vinifera Likely a native of Greece, Muscat blanc has been cultivated on the edge of the Muscat blanc is most commonly trained to bilateral cordons and pruned to 12 to 18 two-node spurs. Retaining low node numbers may limit cluster numbers unnecessarily and contribute to very compact clusters that are prone to bunch rot. Some very vigorous vineyards are head trained and cane pruned to assure adequate yield and to reduce bunch rot with more loose clusters. Mechanical hedge, non-selective pruning is an alternative to cane pruning. Muscat blanc is mostly used to produce quality, sweet, and light, muscat-type varietal wines, some of which are sparkling. These are commonly produced through cold fermentation and minimum skin contact. It is also used for dessert wines and to blend for added fruitiness.
Links
Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis is the source of Foundation grapevine material for the nursery industry, and the staff can provide information about possible sources for obtaining this stock. The National Grape Registry (NGR) contains information about varieties of wine, juice, and table grapes, raisins, and grape rootstocks available in the United States. Growers, nurseries, winemakers and researchers can find background information and source contacts for those grape varieties in this single convenient location.
Publications
Christensen, L. 2003. Muscat blanc (PDF). Pages 94-97 in: Wine Grape Varieties in California. University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3419, Oakland, CA. Buy book
NGR Match
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