White Grape · Lazio

Malvasia

Malvasia is a family name, not a single grape. Fourteen names on Italy's grape register, twelve distinct grapes, share it, white and red. They run from Friuli's dry, salty Istriana to the Aeolian islands' sun-dried sweet wine and a soft red in Puglia.

Malvasia is not one grape but a family of them, white and red, grown from Friuli to Sicily. The name covers at least a dozen distinct Italian varieties. Some make bone-dry whites, some sweet wines from sun-dried grapes, and one makes a soft red in Puglia. This page tells them apart and sends you to each grape's own page.

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Denominations

Before you buy

The words that change the wine

Malvasia Istriana The dry white of Friuli's Collio and Carso. A grape of its own with no genetic link to the others. Has its own page.
Malvasia di Candia Two whites share this name: the Lazio grape in Frascati, and the perfumed Malvasia di Candia Aromatica of Emilia's hills, often lightly sparkling. White. Has its own page.
Malvasia Puntinata, Malvasia del Lazio The spotted-skin white of the hills south of Rome, in Frascati and Roma DOC. White, dry. Has its own page.
Malvasia delle Lipari The Aeolian islands' wine, made from Malvasia di Lipari dried in the sun. A white grape, usually sweet; the same variety grows in Sardinia and in Croatia. Has its own page.
Malvasia Nera A red grape from Brindisi and Lecce, blended into Salento reds and sometimes bottled alone. Dry red. No page yet, so its wines sit here.
Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia del Chianti Tuscany's Malvasia: the white share of old-style Chianti and one of the two grapes of Vin Santo, with Trebbiano. White, dry or sweet. No page yet, so its wines sit here.
Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano Two red grapes of Piedmont that make sweet, lightly sparkling reds. No page yet.
Malvasia di Basilicata A white and a red of their own in inland Basilicata, in Matera DOC and Grottino di Roccanova. Both have their own page.
Malmsey Sweet Madeira wine from Portugal. Same Greek root, but not an Italian grape and not on this page.

The anchor fact: Italy's national grape register lists fourteen Malvasias, white and red, and most are not related to each other. The second word on the label tells you which grape, which colour and which page to read.

Taste · Where it sits

What it’s actually like in the glass

Forget scores out of five. Here’s Malvasia described against grapes you already know.

BodyLight to full, by member
LightFull

Malvasia Istriana and the Frascati Malvasias sit near Pinot Grigio in weight; a Vin Santo or a Lipari passito is as full as a Sauternes.

TanninOnly the red has any
SoftGrippy

Malvasia Nera brings soft, plummy tannin to Salento reds, gentler than the Negroamaro it is blended with. The white Malvasias have none.

AcidityFresh, not sharp
SoftZippy

The Friulian Istriana is the crispest of the family, the sun-dried island wines the roundest.

Fruit & sweetnessFrom bone dry to honeyed
DrySweet

The dry whites taste of apple and almond; the passito wines of dried apricot, raisin and honey. The label word, passito or secco, tells you which end you are at.

Key flavours

Apricot
Dried apricot is the signature of the sweet Malvasias. Lipari's sun-dried grapes give it most clearly, and a Vin Santo made with Malvasia Bianca Lunga shows it under the nuts.
Honey
Honey appears when the grapes are dried before pressing, which concentrates the sugar: the Aeolian passito and Tuscan Vin Santo both have it, a dry Frascati never does.
Jasmine
The dry Malvasias of Lazio and Friuli smell of white flowers rather than fruit. Jasmine shows most clearly in a young Malvasia Puntinata from Frascati.
Almond
A fresh almond note runs through the dry whites, Malvasia Istriana most of all, and turns to bitter-almond and marzipan in the aged Vin Santo.
Orange peel
Candied orange peel belongs to the sweet island wines: the skins dry in the sun on Salina and the bitter-sweet citrus comes through after a few years in bottle.
Raisin
Raisin is the taste of the drying itself. In a Malvasia delle Lipari passito it stays bright; in a decade-old Vin Santo it darkens towards fig and caramel.
Green Apple
The crisp green apple bite of a young Malvasia Istriana from the Carso, picked early and made in steel, is the family's freshest face.
Racy · Crisp Round · Soft Light-bodied Bold · Full Chardonnay Glera Sauvignon Blanc Pinot Grigio Vermentino Pinot Bianco
Malvasia

The map

Malvasia is medium-bodied, balanced acidity, mapped against other white grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and freshness resemble Malvasia.

Malvasiamedium-bodied, balanced acidity
Chardonnaya close match
Gleralighter, crisper
Sauvignon Blanclighter, far crisper
Pinot Grigiolighter, crisper
Vermentinolighter, crisper
Pinot Biancolighter

Is this for you?

An honest gut-check

Reach for it when…

A white that just works

  • A dry, lightly aromatic white around £10 to £13: a Frascati Superiore led by Malvasia
  • A sweet wine for Christmas pudding or Stilton: Malvasia delle Lipari passito or Vin Santo del Chianti
  • A soft Puglian red with plum and spice: a Salento Malvasia Nera

Maybe skip it if…

You’re after something else tonight

  • You want one fixed taste from the name: the members differ more than most grape families
  • You are after Malmsey, which is Madeira from Portugal, not an Italian grape
  • You want a long-ageing dry white: drink the dry Malvasias within three years

Serving guide

Pour it at its best

Serve at

8-12°C

8 to 12C for the whites and sweet wines, 14 to 16C for Malvasia Nera; too cold and the sweet wines lose their honey.

Decant

Not needed

None needed for any member; a Vin Santo just wants the bottle opened a few minutes before pouring.

Glass

Standard White Wine Glass

A standard white glass for the dry wines; a small dessert glass for passito and Vin Santo, where a 50 ml pour is the point.

Drink within

3-5 days

Dry whites keep three to five days once opened; the sweet wines a week in the fridge.

Cellar

2-10 years

A Malvasia delle Lipari passito or a Vin Santo keeps ten years and more; nothing dry here gains from keeping.

On the table

What to eat with Malvasia

Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.

Pasta alla carbonara

Rome's own match

Pasta alla carbonara

Guanciale and egg are rich and salty. A dry Frascati led by Malvasia Puntinata cuts the fat with fresh acidity, and its almond note sits well with the pecorino.
Christmas Pudding

The sweet wine that keeps up

Christmas Pudding

Dried fruit, spice and suet need a wine as sweet as the pudding. A Malvasia delle Lipari passito tastes of the same dried apricot and raisin, so neither side wins.
Stilton

Salt meets honey

Stilton

Blue cheese is salty and sharp. A Vin Santo made from Malvasia Bianca Lunga answers with honey and nuts, the way port does, with less alcohol.
Gnocco fritto

Emilia's fizzy white

Gnocco fritto

Fried dough and cured ham want bubbles and freshness. The lightly sparkling Malvasia di Candia Aromatica of the Emilian hills is made for exactly this plate.

Browse every pairing

British British
Desserts 6 Cheese 1
Italian Italian
Desserts 3 Pasta 2 Antipasti 1

Buy it · three to start with

Not sure which bottle? Start here

A curated trio across the price range, then every Malvasia on sale in the UK right now.

Entry · everyday

Frascati, Principe Pallavicini

Frascati, Principe Pallavicini

Frascati

2 retailers

£11.95

+ delivery

View Wine

Why this one: Principe Pallavicini's Frascati, about £12: Malvasia Puntinata with Trebbiano and Greco from the Castelli Romani, dry, with white flowers and a bitter-almond finish.

The sweet spot

San Marzano 'Talo', Salento, Malvasia Nera

San Marzano 'Talo', Salento, Malvasia Nera

Salento

3 retailers

£15.00

+ delivery

View Wine

Why this one: The red Malvasia on its own, about £15: San Marzano's Talò from Salento is soft, plummy and spiced, a wine most people never knew existed.

Special occasion

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC Isole e Olena

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC Isole e Olena

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

1 retailer

£62.00

+ delivery

View Wine

Why this one: Isole e Olena's Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, about £62 a half bottle. Malvasia and Trebbiano are dried, then aged for years in small sealed casks: honey and dried apricot in the glass.

12 of 63 bottles

Denominations

Where it earns a name on the label

The appellations where Malvasia plays a starring role.

BivongiDOC Cannellino di FrascatiDOCG ChiantiDOCG Frascati SuperioreDOCG MateraDOC MoliseDOC PugliaIGT SalentoIGT Sant'AntimoDOC Terre di CosenzaDOC UmbriaIGT Valdichiana ToscanaDOC VerbicaroDOC Vin Santo del ChiantiDOC Vin Santo del Chianti ClassicoDOC Vin Santo di CarmignanoDOC Vin Santo di MontepulcianoDOC

Where it grows

The places it calls home

Lazio

Lazio is Frascati country with a serious red side. Volcanic whites from the Castelli Romani, Cesanese on the Ciociaria hills, and a Roma DOC reaching for Read more

66 wines · 36 denominations

Tuscany

From galestro hills in Chianti Classico to the single Brunello rise of Montalcino and the sea-facing Cabernets of Bolgheri, Tuscany is Italian wine's stage in Read more

1529 wines · 58 denominations

Puglia

From Manduria's Primitivo bottlings to Salento's Negroamaro estates and Castel del Monte's Nero di Troia DOCG hills, Puglia offers Italy's deepest catalogue Read more

468 wines · 41 denominations

Friuli Venezia Giulia

Italy's white-wine heartland, where Friulano, Ribolla Gialla and skin-contact orange wines meet alpine air, Adriatic light and the cooking of San Daniele and Read more

569 wines · 20 denominations

Sicily

Volcanic Nerello on Etna's black terraces, sun-baked Nero d'Avola on the south-east coast, fortified Marsala in Trapani and UNESCO Zibibbo on Pantelleria Read more

718 wines · 31 denominations

Emilia Romagna

Italy's pasta plains pour fizzy Lambrusco from Modena and Reggio, ageworthy Sangiovese di Romagna, Albana DOCG whites, and Bologna's gentle Pignoletto. Read more

211 wines · 35 denominations

The terroir

One name, three homes on this page. The members with their own pages live in Friuli, Lazio, the Aeolian islands and Basilicata; the wines kept here come mostly from Tuscany, Lazio and Puglia.

Castelli Romani, Lazio

The volcanic hills south of Rome, around Frascati

Malvasia di Candia and Malvasia Puntinata blended with Trebbiano: dry, lightly floral whites with an almond finish, made to drink young.

Chianti hills, Tuscany

The Chianti and Chianti Classico zones between Florence and Siena

Malvasia Bianca Lunga, once the white share of Chianti, now dried on racks for Vin Santo: amber, honeyed and nutty, aged for years in small sealed casks.

Salento, Puglia

The flat heel of Italy, around Brindisi and Lecce

Malvasia Nera, a red grape that softens Negroamaro blends and is bottled alone by a few estates: plum, dried herbs and gentle tannin.

Producers

The estates that make it

19 estates on the site work with Malvasia. Eight at a time, and the line-up changes every week.

Marchesi Antinori Est. 1385
Tuscany · Firenze

Marchesi Antinori

Spanning 26 generations since 1385, Marchesi Antinori is the oldest continuously family-run wine business in Italy. Its nine estates make Chianti Classico, Bolgheri reds and the Super Tuscans Tignanello and Solaia.

31wines From £11.71
Cantine San Marzano Est. 1962
Puglia · San Marzano S. G.

Cantine San Marzano

A co-operative in the centre of the Primitivo di Manduria zone, between Salento's two coasts. Nineteen growers started it in 1962, and the first bottling line arrived in 1996. Its Sessantanni, from bush-vines over sixty years old, put Puglian red wine on the world map.

36wines From £12.20
Fontodi
Tuscany · Panzano in Chianti

Fontodi

Fontodi farms the heart of the Conca d'Oro below Panzano, fully organic, with every grape picked by hand. Its owners, the Manetti family, have made Florentine terracotta for three centuries, and their jars ferment part of each vintage in the gravity-flow cellar. Flaccianello della Pieve leads a range that runs from Chianti Classico to a nine-year-aged Vin Santo.

13wines From £23.57
Lunae
Liguria · Ortonovo

Lunae

Four generations of the Bosoni family farm 65 hectares of Ligurian Vermentino, Albarola and Vermentino Nero in the Colli di Luni, between the Apuan Alps and the Gulf of La Spezia. Etichetta Nera and Etichetta Grigia set the modern benchmark for the appellation, with Tre Bicchieri 2026 and a Wine Spectator Top 100 listing. Visits run year-round at Ca' Lunae, an 18th-century farmhouse turned tasting room and Wine Museum.

17wines From £15
Isole e Olena Est. 1956
Tuscany · Barberino Tavarnelle

Isole e Olena

Two historic hamlets joined into one estate in 1956, and the birthplace of Cepparello, the pure Sangiovese released every first of April.

7wines From £25
Tenuta del Buonamico Est. 1964
Tuscany · Montecarlo

Tenuta del Buonamico

Founded in 1964 to supply a Tuscan trattoria in Turin, this estate below Montecarlo makes a DOC white and red, Syrah from vines planted in 1964 and Particolare sparkling rosé. Tours run daily, and you can stay in its 11-room resort.

4wines From £14.80
Tenute Silvio Nardi Est. 1950
Tuscany · Montalcino

Tenute Silvio Nardi

Silvio Nardi bought Casale del Bosco in 1950, bottled Brunello from 1954 and helped found the Consorzio. Today 80 hectares over two estates give the single-vineyard Manachiara and Poggio Doria, and three tours can be booked online.

9wines From £11.90
Azienda Agricola Moroder Alessandro Est. 1837
Marche · Ancona

Azienda Agricola Moroder Alessandro

Seventh-generation family estate inside the Conero national park, 1.2 km from the Adriatic. Certified organic since 2010. Best known for Dorico, the Conero Riserva that was the first Marche red to win Tre Bicchieri. Tastings run in a vaulted clay cellar, with a restaurant and B&B on site.

0wines

Editorial

About Malvasia

Malvasia takes its name from Monemvasia, the Greek port that shipped sweet wine to Venice in the Middle Ages. Italians gave the name to any grape that made wine in that style. So today the national grape register lists fourteen Malvasias, and most of them are not related to each other. The name describes a kind of wine, not a family tree.

Malvasia di Lipari, the grape of the Aeolian passito, is the same variety as Croatia's Malvasija Dubrovacka: the international grape catalogue files both under one number.

VIVC, Vitis International Variety Catalogue, variety 7266

Malvasia Istriana is the dry, salty white of Friuli's Collio and Carso hills. It has no genetic link to the rest. Malvasia di Candia and Malvasia Puntinata are the two whites behind Frascati and the hills south of Rome. Malvasia di Lipari is the aromatic grape of the Aeolian islands. Its grapes are dried on mats for the islands' passito, and the same variety grows in Sardinia, in Croatia and near Barcelona under other names.

Malvasia Bianca Lunga is Tuscany's Malvasia. It was the white share of old-style Chianti and it is still one of the two grapes of Vin Santo, with Trebbiano. Malvasia Nera, from Brindisi and Lecce, is a red grape blended into the reds of Puglia. Piedmont has two sweet, lightly sparkling reds, Malvasia di Casorzo and Malvasia di Schierano. Basilicata has a white and a red of its own, Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata and Malvasia Nera di Basilicata.

The wines listed on this page are the ones whose label does not say which Malvasia is in the bottle: Toscana IGT whites, Vin Santo, Salento reds and Lazio blends. Where the wine's own zone settles it, the bottle usually sits on that grape's page instead. For the sweet side of the family, read our guide to Italian dessert wines. Several growers also leave the skins in while the white juice ferments, the way orange wine is made.

Good to know

Frequently asked

No. Malvasia is a family name: fourteen names on Italy's grape register, twelve distinct grapes, white and red, and most of them are not related. Malvasia Istriana, Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia Puntinata and Malvasia di Lipari each have their own page on this site.

Both. In Friuli and Lazio it is a dry white. On the Aeolian islands, and in Tuscany's Vin Santo, it is a sweet wine made from dried grapes. Check the label: passito, Vin Santo or dolce means sweet.

The dry whites taste of white flowers, apple and almond, with a salty edge in Friuli. The sweet wines taste of dried apricot, honey, raisin and candied orange peel. The red Malvasia Nera is soft and plummy.

No. Malmsey is the English name for sweet Madeira wine from Portugal. Both words come from Monemvasia in Greece, but Malmsey is not an Italian grape and is not on this page.

Yes. Malvasia Nera, grown around Brindisi and Lecce, is a red grape blended into Salento reds and sometimes bottled on its own. Piedmont has two sweet, lightly sparkling reds, Malvasia di Casorzo and Malvasia di Schierano.

Two of them: Malvasia di Candia and Malvasia Puntinata, also called Malvasia del Lazio. Frascati is a blend led by these two, with Trebbiano and other local whites making up the rest.

Drink the dry whites within two or three years of the harvest. A Vin Santo or a Malvasia delle Lipari passito keeps for ten years or more, and an opened bottle of the sweet wine lasts a week in the fridge.

Explore by style

Wine styles made from Malvasia

Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.

Keep exploring

More white grapes