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seems its wines are also more aromatic than
any Malvasia di Sardegna or di Bosa wine I
have ever tried. These differences in the wines
may be the result of different winemaking or
viticultural techniques, such as higher or lower
yields, but still, I wonder. As of 2009 there
were roughly 220 hectares planted to Malvasia
di Sardegna on the island, especially in the
central-eastern part, around the towns of Al-
ghero, Bosa, Cagliari, and Sorso. The one true
grand cru
is Bosa, in the Planargia area of
Sardinia.
you can fi nd it—the winemaker is, not by
chance, also a jeweler), Giona**, Barone di Vil-
lagrande* (the lovely, large single-vineyard wine
called Brigadiere), Caravaglio** (Passito),
Mimmo Paone*, and Tasca d'Almerita* (Capo-
faro, also the name of a wonderful luxury hotel,
Tenuta Capofaro). Hauner was once the most
famous malvasia di Lipari producer (I love, and
loved, their wines from the 1980s); today they
produce wines from grapes grown on the islands
of Salina and Vulcano. Punta dell'Ufala/Lan-
tieri** now also makes a great wine on Vulcano.
For Malvasia di Sardegna, try: Fratelli Porcu***
(dry or sweet), Battista Columbu***, and Mel-
oni* (Donna Jolanda, sweet and inexpensive).
Which Wines to Choose and Why
In Sicily there are fourteen estates, sixty grape
growers, and sixty-fi ve hectares under vine to
Malvasia di Lipari, mainly on the island of Salina
though the grapevine has recently reached Vul-
cano as well. Over two hundred thousand bottles
of Malvasia delle Lipari wine are produced each
year: 80 percent of those are sweet
passito
(or air-
dried) and 20 percent are
naturale.
Island pro-
ducers have also mentioned that the musts of
other varieties fi nd their way into some lesser
examples of modern Malvasia di Lipari wines.
Honeyed and long, with delicate dried apricot
and fresh peach aromas and fl avors, lifted by a
lovely fl oral note and an extremely intense note
of oranges, Malvasia di Lipari wines can be
unforgettable. Over in Sardinia, the DOC wines
are malvasia di Bosa and malvasia di Cagliari.
The malvasia di Bosa is richer, deeper, and more
alcoholic (it's also aged longer before being put
up for sale) than the malvasia di Cagliari: both
are available in dry and sweet styles, as well as
fortifi ed versions. These wines smell and taste
very different from those made on the Eolian
islands, and perhaps these differences are the
consequence of different microclimates, soils
and winemaking skills and techniques. Then
again, many wine lovers won't be surprised if
they are one day told that Malvasia di Lipari,
Malvasia di Sardegna, and Greco Bianco were
three distinct varieties after all.
Malvasia Istriana
where it's found:
FVG, Puglia, Veneto.
na -
tional registry code number:
138.
color:
white.
Malvasia Istriana (called Malvazija Istarska
in Istria) has been documented in Friuli Vene-
zia Giulia (FVG) since the thirteenth century. It
is usually considered to have an Istrian origin,
as its name implies (Istria, a peninsula long a
part of Italy, was lost in the aftermath of World
War II). Interestingly, I have found no docu-
ments specifically mentioning this variety
growing in Istria before 1891; Osterman (1940)
writes that “malvagias” were among the most
coveted wines of Friuli in the fourteenth cen-
tury, but of course we have no way of knowing
if it was Malvasia Istriana they were made with.
A wildly interesting study by Peji ´, Ma le t ic´, a nd
Naslov (2005) demonstrated no genetic rela-
tionship between it and twenty-eight Greek
varieties. According to the famous study by
Lacombe, Boursiquot, Laoucou, Dechesne,
Varès, and This (2007), Malvasia Istriana is
instead genetically related to Malvasia di Lipari,
Malvasia Bianca Lunga, and Malvasia Nera di
Brindisi, and is one of the parents of the labora-
tory crossing Incrocio Dalmasso 2/26, also
called Vega (the other parent is Furmint, a well-
known Hungarian native variety). Crespan,
Cabello, Giannetto, Ibanez, Karoglan Kontic,
wines to try:
For Malvasia delle Lipari, try
:
Fenech***, Caffarella*** (super-expensive, if
