Morio-Muskat is Germany’s most popular muscat-like vine variety by far, although it is almost certainly unrelated to any Muscat. The precise identity of Peter Morio’s german cross remains a mystery but its obvious grapiness is not. It was particularly popular with the eager blenders of the pfalz and rheinhessen in the late 1970s, when its total German area reached 3,000 ha/7,410 acres, and demand for liebfraumilch was high: a drop of Morio-Muskat in a neutral blend of Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner was the cheapest way of Germanizing it. Total plantings are falling fast, however, and Germany had only 488 ha by 2012 as this aggressively blowsy cross has undoubtedly had its day. The grapes can rot easily and ripen a week after Müller-Thurgau, which means that bacchus can be a better alternative for Germany’s cooler northern wine regions.
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