🍷 A sweet wine 🍇 A sweet grape

muscatel

8.0

A sweet grape with a strong, fruity smell used for wine or raisins

noun
/ˌmʌskəˈtɛl/

: uva muscatel

She added a handful of muscatel raisins to the cake batter.

Examples

A glass of chilled muscatel pairs well with fruit-based desserts.
♪ Daddy was a new sensation ♪ Got himself a congregation ♪ Built up quite an operation down below ♪ With the pie-eyed piper blowing ♪ While the Muscatel was flowing ♪ All the cats were go-go-going ♪ Down below

Sweet Charity (1969)
Muscatel?

The Marseille Contract (1974)
The dessert wine was made from muscatel grapes grown in the region.

Synonyms

muscat grape

vsmuscatel

5.1

A sweet grape with a floral smell used to make wine and raisins

is the same variety but named differently in some regions

muskat

vsmuscatel

9.9

A sweet white grape often eaten fresh or used to make wine and raisins

is the single aromatic variety rather than multiple vine types

muscat

vsmuscatel

7.6

A sweet, fragrant grape used for eating or making wine

focuses on wine or raisins rather than eating fresh

Surface Forms

muscatel singular

muscatels plural

Morphology

muscatel = muscat (semi-transparent) = muscat + el

The word names a grape variety derived from 'muscat'; the morphological link is clear but relies on a borrowed, non-productive suffix and specialist vocabulary.

Etymology

Muscatel comes from the grape name muscat, which is linked to musk 'a strong sweet smell'. That's why muscatel grapes and raisins are known for their sweet, fragrant taste and are used for sweet wines and desserts.