How to pour
a muscadet in
Put the bottle in the refrigerator for three hours, so it reaches 8 to 10 degrees. Muscadet is light and dry, so serving it too cold costs you the little fruit it contains, leaving only the salt and acidity. A bucket half-filled with water and half-filled with ice does the same job in fifteen minutes.
Cut around the capsule just below the ridge on the neck and wipe the neck clean. Place the spiral in the center of the cork and turn it straight down. Many bottles nowadays have a screw cap, and that is not a drawback with this wine: it is meant to be drunk young.
Decanting makes no sense here: the wine is too light and would only warm up in a decanter. Instead, pour slowly along the side of the glass. A bottle of sur lie sometimes has a very slight fizz, and that fizz is part of it; it disappears by itself within the first minute.
Pour until the glass is about one-third full and put the bottle back in the cooler. With a little more space above the wine, you can smell the bready note left by the lees, which is the most interesting thing happening in the glass with a good muscadet.
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The story
Muscadet is the wine of the far western Loire, around Nantes, where the river flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The grape is called melon de bourgogne and has nothing to do with the Muscat grape; the name Muscadet refers to the wine, not the grape. The largest and best-known area within the appellation is Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, named after two small rivers southeast of the city. Most bottles come from there, and most of the wine is also bottled sur lie there, the method that gives the wine its character.
The right glass
Muscadet does not require a special shape, but it does need a glass with a little room, because otherwise you miss the one thing that really stands out here: the bready aroma left by the yeast sediment. An ordinary white wine glass holding thirty to forty centilitres, filled one-third full, is just right. More important than the shape is the stem: hold the glass by it, because the wine is so delicate that a warmed glass immediately makes it taste flat. There is no special Muscadet glass, so the two below are ordinary white wine glasses from the white wine glasses collection. Keep the bottle cold between pours in one of the wine coolers.
Schott Zwiesel For You White Wine Glass 36.8 cl (4 pieces)
Zwiesel Glas Pure White Wine Glass 41 cl (2 pieces)
Both sets together € 50,85.
The right tools
For a Muscadet, besides the glass, you mainly need a corkscrew and a wine cooler, because this wine needs to stay cold. The bar tools below go with the dish beside them: a citrus press for the lemon juice over the oysters and a bar spoon for stirring the sauce. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 49,85.
Which wine pairs with this?
Muscadet is almost always served at the start of the meal, with a platter of seafood. These are the wines that naturally go with it, from a glass of cava beforehand to a rosé wine when it is warm outside. On every drink page, you can read the percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it pairs with and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Within the appellation, Sèvre et Maine, Coteaux de la Loire and Côtes de Grandlieu are the areas you will see on labels; Sèvre et Maine is by far the largest. If it says sur lie, the wine has rested on its lees until spring. Some bottles also remain on the lees for much longer, sometimes for years; these are fuller-bodied and more age-worthy than ordinary muscadet and are usually sold under the name of a subregion on the label. Want to read more? Explore all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
Oysters are the classic pairing, and for good reason: the wine's acidity does for an oyster what a slice of lemon does, while the salty thread in the glass echoes the seawater. Pan-fried mussels work just as well, especially when there is some white wine in the broth. Muscadet also pairs with prawns, fried fish and anything you eat with mayonnaise or aioli.
Good to know
Melon de bourgogne is not the muscat grape
The name muscadet resembles muscat, but the grape behind it is called melon de bourgogne and is a different plant. Muscat grapes are distinctly aromatic and smell of fresh grapes; melon de bourgogne, by contrast, is notably neutral and produces a wine with little aroma and plenty of freshness. So anyone expecting a sweet, floral wine because of the similar name will be disappointed.
What sur lie means exactly
After fermentation, the dead yeast cells sink to the bottom of the tank. Normally, the wine is removed from them, but with sur lie, it remains on the lees until spring and is bottled directly from that sediment. This gives the wine more body and a bready, almost doughy note, and often a very slight fizz. Without this step, muscadet would taste much leaner.
Why it has so little alcohol
The region lies by the ocean and is cool and humid, and melon de bourgogne rarely ripens to high sugar levels there. As a result, muscadet usually contains roughly 11 to 12 percent alcohol, lower than most white wine. That is also exactly why it works so well with a platter of seafood: you can drink a few glasses without the alcohol taking over.
Sèvre et Maine on the label
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine is the largest subregion of the appellation and is named after two small rivers southeast of Nantes. By far the majority of bottles you see in the Netherlands come from here, and the combination with sur lie on the same label is the most common form. The other subregions are Coteaux de la Loire and Côtes de Grandlieu.
How long you can keep it
Regular muscadet is made to be drunk young, within a year or two of the harvest; after that, the freshness that is its main characteristic fades. Bottles that have spent much longer on the lees are an exception: they have more body and last longer. Store every bottle horizontally and in a cool place, and stand it upright as soon as you want to open it.
Frequently asked questions
Is muscadet made from the muscat grape?
No. The grape is called melon de bourgogne and has nothing to do with muscat, despite the similarity in their names. While muscat grapes are distinctly aromatic, melon de bourgogne is neutral and produces a dry, fresh wine without a floral or sweet aroma.
What does sur lie mean on the label?
That the wine remained on its lees until spring after fermentation and was bottled directly from them. This gives it more body, a bready note and sometimes a very slight touch of carbonation. It is the step that gives muscadet its character.
What does muscadet taste like?
Dry, light and almost neutral, with citrus and green apple in the background and a salty thread often compared to seawater. The acidity is high and the finish is short and clean. A sur lie bottle adds a bready, yeasty note.
At what temperature and in what glass should you serve muscadet?
Between 8 and 10 degrees, in a regular white wine glass holding thirty to forty centilitres, filled one-third full. Oysters and mussels are the classic pairing, and it also goes well with prawns, fried fish and dishes with mayonnaise or aioli.
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