In Australia also known as Muscat à petits grains, Brown Muscat or Frontignac. This variety has many different names all over the world. In France it is also known as Muscat Blanc (de Frontignan), Muscat à petits grains or Muscatel, in Portugal as Muscatel Branco, do Douro etc., in Spain as Moscatel Menudo Branco, Bruno etc., in Italy as Moscato Bianco, d’Asti etc. and can be recognised in Muskat, Muskatel, Muskateller etc. in Germany and Austria.

History has it as the oldest grape variety known, probably originating in Ancient Greece and then carried through Italy into Roman France, it is recorded as being exported from the port of Frontignan in South-West France during the reign of Charlemagne. Muscat de Frontignan was introduced into Australia in the Busby Collection of 1832 and endorsed by Macarthur in 1844 as a suitable variety for Australian conditions. It's geographical distribution of the Muscat de Frontignan is widely distributed but not always grown in large quantities, and while there is a stable white variety there are other sub-species which produce grapes of the three colours red, rosé and white on the same vine irregularly.

It appears that the stable white variety is more common in Europe and the irregularly coloured sub-species more common in Australia and South Africa. Muscat de Frontignan is present in Mediterranean France, in Hérault, the Pyrénées Orientales and Bas Languedoc, though plantings decreased greatly after the outbreak of phylloxera. The variety is also present in Italy, Spain, Hungary, Samos (Greece), the U.S.A., especially California, Argentina, South Africa and Australia.