Muscardin is a dark-skinned

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

primarily found in the southern part of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

region. It is primarily noted for being one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avi ...

appellation. It is a very rare variety, and in 2004 only 0.4% of the appellation's vineyards were planted with Muscardin. The resulting red wines tends to have high acid levels, low alcohol, light tannic structure but can show attractive flowery aromas. The color is also lighter than most Rhone varieties and the wine is prone to the

wine fault A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions, and leading to wine spoilage. Many of the compounds that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine ...

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 203 Mitchell Beazley 1986

Relationship to other grape varieties

Muscardin appears to be nearly identical to

Mondeuse noire Mondeuse noire () is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit ...

except that it has less sensitivity to

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucif ...

. They are however not thought to be the same variety.

Synonyms

Muscardin is also known under the synonyms Muscadin and Muscardin noir.Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Muscardin
, accessed June 19, 2008

References

{{Reflist Red wine grape varieties