The Malvasia is a variety of white grape, but there’s also a red sub-variety. The bunch is small and with little compactness and the grape is big, tender and egg-shaped, very sweet and aromatic. It has a good acidity and it’s sugar-rich, and it’s difficult to find these two characteristics in the same grape.
It’s believed that Malvasia comes from Greece, but it’s also said that it comes from Asia Minor. It’s one of the oldest white grape varieties and it has been grown historically in the Mediterranian region. There are a lot of sub-varieties due to its age and its area, but they were reduced because of their poor resistance to diseases.
Malvasia is one of the main varieties of the DO Penedès and DO Tarragona and it’s considered the main variety in Barcelona. The “malvasia from Sitges” is the typical sweet wine that is consumed after celebrations and “xatonades”, a typical food from Catalonia.
The wine produced with Malvasia it’s also called malvasia. It’s a white, sweet, fragrant and high-proof wine. There are also some table wines and dessert wines made with this variety.
There’s an anecdote attached to this wine: in the Middle Ages they believed that Malvasia had medicinal and tonic properties. The fame arrived to the book “Tirant lo Blanc”, where it’s quoted.
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