What is "malvasia"

malvasia \malvasia\ n. A sweet grape used to make malmsey wine.

n. A variety of grape, originally from the region of the Aegean, now used to make malmsey wine

n. used to make malmsey wine

Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, and Malmsey have been used interchangeably for Malvasia-based wines; however, in modern oenology, "Malmsey" is now used almost exclusively for a sweet variety of Madeira wine made from the Malvasia grape. Grape varieties in this family include Malvasia bianca, Malvasia di Schierano, Malvasia negra, , Malvasia near di Brindisi and a number of other varieties.

Malvasia wines are produced in Italy (including Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardia, Apulia, Sicily, Lipari, Emilia-Romagna, and Sardinia), Slovenia, Croatia (including Istria), Corsica, the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, the island of Madeira, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Australia and Brazil. These grapes are used to produce white (and more rarely red) table wines, dessert wines, and fortified wines of the same name, or are sometimes used as part of a blend of grapes, such as in Vin Santo.