A Liqueur Muscat is a fortified wine

Fortified wine

Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

 made in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 from the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters...

 (known locally as Brown Muscat) grapes. The wine is sweet, dark, highly alcoholic Australian wine

Australian wine

The Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy...

 that has some similarities to Madeira

Madeira wine

Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...

 and Malaga

Malaga (wine)

Malaga is a sweet fortified wine originating in the Spanish city of Málaga made from Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes. The center of Malaga production is Sierra de Almijara, along with Antequera, Archidona, San Pedro Alcantara, Velez Malaga and Competa. The winemaking history in Malaga and the...

. The grape is most commonly produced in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 in the wine regions of Rutherglen

Rutherglen, Victoria

Rutherglen is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, near the Murray River border with New South Wales. The town was named after the Scottish town of Rutherglen which lies just outside Glasgow...

 and Glenrowan

Glenrowan, Victoria

Glenrowan is a small town located in the Wangaratta Local Government Area of Victoria, Australia. It is 184 kilometres north-east of Melbourne and 14 kilometres from Wangaratta and located near the Warby Ranges and Mount Glenrowan...

.

Production

Liqueur Muscat essentially starts out being a late harvest wine

Late harvest wine

Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...

 with the grapes allowed to stay on the vine till they are in a partially raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

ed state. The grapes are then pressed and go through partial fermentation

Fermentation (wine)

The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 where it is halted by the addition grape spirits. The wine is then aged in oak in a system resembling the Sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

 solera

Solera

Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other...

 system. Similar to Madeira, the wines are often exposed to high temperatures.

Classification system

In the late 1990s, winemakers in Rutherglen established as voluntary classification

Classification of wine

The classification of wine can be done according to various methods including, but not limited to, place of origin or appellation, vinification methods and style, sweetness and vintage, or varietal used. Practices vary in different countries and regions of origin, and many practices have varied...

and regulation system for their Liqueur Muscat wines. At the lowest classification is the wine styled Rutherglen Muscat followed by Classic Muscat and Grand Muscat. At the highest end and meant to indicate a richer and more complex wine is the Rare Muscat.