Muscat Wines of Chile
Prior to the 1980s wines from Chile were considered to be of low quality and unworthy of international attention. Despite this reputation Chile has a long history of wine making which includes the Muscat grape (Moscatel). In the 1700s Chilean sweet wines were mostly made from the Pais and Moscatel grapes.
Currently most of the Muscat grapes grown in Chile are used to make Pisco, a grape brandy that is also made in other wine-producing regions of South America. Chile uses a number of different Muscat grapes to make Pisco including Yellow Muscat, White Early Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, Austrian Muscat, Frontignan Muscat, Hamburg Muscat, Pink Muscat, Orange Muscat.
Muscat grapes are also used to make a few sweet dessert wines and drier table wines.