''Musqué'' is a French term applied to certain

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

or clones of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s used for making

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. The term means both perfumed ("

musk Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...

y") and

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

-like, and indicates that the variety or clone is highly aromatic. The term ''musqué'' is usually suffixed to the name of certain grape varieties to indicate a clone with ''musqué'' properties, e.g. "

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

''musqué''" or "

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

''musqué''". Such clones have arisen through

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...

of a regular ("non-musqué") clone of the variety, and such mutations have been recorded for several different grape varieties. The most well-known ''musqué'' grape is

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and which performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz ( ; although this is never the case in German, because mean ...

, which is a ''musqué'' mutation of a red-skinned

Traminer Savagnin () or Savagnin blanc is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vin de paille. History The history of ...

, which is also known as Savagnin rose in France. Since the ''musqué'' Gewürztraminer has largely replaced non-''musqué'' Traminer, it is generally considered a grape variety in its own right rather than a clone of Traminer or Savagnin. The issue of whether the ''musqué'' mutations, with their distinct aromatic properties should be classified as varieties in their own right, and be allowed to be used for

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

wine labelling has created bureaucratic problems for some winemakers.Wineloverspage.com 30 Second Wine Advisor: Aromatic Musque
accessed April 9, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musque Wine terminology French words and phrases