white grape · regional specialty
Malvasia Bianca
Italy (southern regions and Aeolian Islands)
Say it
mal·vah·zee·ahbyahn·kah
On the palate
apricotorange blossomhoneysucklewhite peachhoneyalmond
How you spot it blind: heady musk and apricot aromatics; acidity falls fast without careful harvest timing
The story
VIVC molecular marker analysis confirmed Sciaccarello, a Corsican-Tuscan founder variety, as one parent of Malvasia Bianca, genetically distinguishing it from most other members of the broad Malvasia family.
Family tree: SCIACCARELLO × unknown
Where it lives
Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Italy · Calabria, Italy · Puglia, Italy · Campania, Italy · Tuscany, Italy · California, USA
Shows up as
still whitepassitosweetsparklingfortifiedorangeMalvasia delle Lipari DOC