Malvasia Bianca

Malvasia Bianca, also known as White Malvasia, is a dominant member of the Malvasia family of grapes. It is grown in a wide range of environments across the world, from California's Central Coast to the hillside vineyards of the Balkans. It is used to produce dry, sweet, sparkling and specialty wines. The vines are of medium to high productivity and the berries are yellow-brown with low to medium acidity. When vinified dry, the resulting wine can be very clean and crisp. In sweeter or off dry styles, Malvasia Bianca shows ripe pear flavors backed by honey notes and a touch of spice. In Sicily, Sardinia and the Aeolian Islands, Malvasia Bianca is commonly produced in the semi dried passito style. This is an involved procedure that intensifies the flavors of the grapes and changes the wine's color to more amber and golden tones. In Chianti, Malvasia Bianca is blended with Trebbiano to produce Vin Santo. Malvasia Bianca is also grown in Croatia, Slovenia, Portugal, Spain and the USA.