Malvasia Bianca

Part of the malvasia family of grapes, malvasia bianca, a white-wine grape, comprises the majority of this category. The style often features an explosion of pear and honey notes on the palate and carries a golden or amber hue in the glass.

Malvasia bianca is grown in diverse locations including California’s Central Coast, the Balkans, Italy, Slovenia, Portugal, Spain, and Croatia. The grape is also very diverse in its usage, as it's featured in a variety of wines including sparkling, dry, and sweet wines.

If you try malvasia bianca in Italy (particularly in Sicily and Sardinia), the result is a dry passito style, where clusters of grapes are dried before they are used to make wine. The result is a flavor profile much like ice wines.

Quick Facts

• Trebbiano grown in Chianti, Italy, is blended with malvasia bianca to make a wine called vin santo
• There are 84 recognized varieties within the malvasia family of grapes
• In addition to malvasia bianca, a scant few examples of red wines made from malvasia grapes exist, but are quite rare