Muscat Alexandria

Exotic and rare

Muscat of Alexandria is one of the primordial varieties of the Muscat family and is internationally regarded as an ‘ancient variety’, originating from Alexandria, Egypt.

Αμπελώνας Τρόχαλα

Muscat of Alexandria is one of the primordial varieties of the Muscat family and is internationally regarded as an ‘ancient variety’, originating from Alexandria, Egypt.

It arrived in Lemnos at the beginning of the 20th century from the Limnians of Egypt, together with the riches and ideas they acquired in Egypt. Moreover, the ‘touch of Egypt’ in Lemnos, beyond the wines, is also reflected in the architecture of the traditional mansions on the island.

Although until 1950 the most widespread variety of the island was the red variety Limnio, locally known as Kalampaki, the Muscat of Alexandria gradually proved its ideal acclimatization with the dry thermal conditions and volcanic soils of Limnos. Being a variety with resistance to heat, dry vines and lack of water, for the last 70 years it has been by far the most widespread grape variety on the island.

Exotic and rare

If someone wants to try Muscat of Alexandria from Greece, the wine of Limnos is probably the only way to go. Throughout the rest of Greece, other variations of Moschato prevail overwhelmingly (White Moschato, Spinas Moschato, Hamburg Moschato), while abroad the Alexandria Moschato does not correspond to the variety of styles offered by Limnos. A versatile variety, capable of producing many different styles of wine, dry white, orange and naturally sweet.

Muscat of Alexandria differs from white Muscat in the following ways:

It has a milder aromatic character giving wines more restrained aromatics and therefore more suitable as food wines
Muscat of Alexandria has multiple uses (suitable for wine production for raisin production but also for table grape production)
It has larger sparse oval grapes
In Greece, it is cultivated almost exclusively in Limnos