Malvasia

The Malvasia vine is one of the most ancient known, planted widely throughout the Mediterranean basin though not in great quantity. Though believed to have originated in Asia Minor, the variety is named for the Greek port of Monemvasia, the exit route from which wines produced in the surrounding Agean Islands were shipped.

Usually thought of as a white vine, Malvasia is in fact a family of related subvarieties whose grapes may range in color from red to pale green, each of which typically adopts a place-name, as in Malvasia di Toscana, or a characteristic, as in Malvasia Fina. There are also numerous other varieties referring to Malvasia, such as the French Malvoisie, which are entirely unrelated. The most important subvarieties of Malvasia are generally grouped under the term Malvasia Bianca.

At the risk of overgeneralization, Malvasia is a reliable, resistant, moderately productive hot climate vine which prefers a dry climate and well-drained slopes. It has large, deep green, sharply notched leaves and loosely-knit bunches of spherical berries. Depending on the strain, acidity will vary, as with color. The fruit is high in flavor, fragrance and extract and can achieve high potential alcohol levels.

Malvasia is as versatile as its family members are numerous. Throughout Italy it is blended with other white varieties, notably the equally hard to buttonhole Trebbiano, for fresh, dry wines; in Spain with the Viura in the white wines of Rioja and Navarra; and in Portugal in numerous dry blends. Malvasia stands on its own in eleven different Italian D.O.C. wines, both dry and “passito,” in which the grapes are dried to the semi-raisin state before being vinified as a sweet wine. In Portugal, as a fortified wine, it may appear in any proportion in semi-dry to very sweet white Ports, and it is one of the five varieties cultivated on the island of Madeira, where it is known as Malmsey, for production of the sublime, immortal sweet wines of the same name.

As a dry wine, Malvasia offers spicy perfume, full body, heft and fat, peachy fruit with nuances of musk and almonds and a note of acidity on the finish. As a sweet wine the grape-like, nutty qualities intensify. In Maderia the volcanic soil, method of production and customarily long aging yield a deep gold, smoke and honey-scented wine with notes of toffee and chocolate underscored by a firm acidic tang. Also planted sparsely in Germany and California.

Alternate Names: Früher Roter Malvasier, Uva Greca, Rojal, Subirat, Blancquirroja, Tobia, Cagazal