A fairly traditional winery in Rioja produces this wine from 50-year-old viura vines, blended with a little malvasia. The nose is aromatic, as you’d expect. On the palate it is reminiscent of Chablis, but the flavors are more gentle and rounder, especially toward the end. A bit of steeliness re-awakens in a slightly citric finish; very dry. Recommended.
True to type, pleasantly pungent aromas, mildly floral: rose and jasmine. Still had a bit of fizz when first opened. Contains tropical fruit as well as minerality, with a good amount of acidity. Seems light but holds up to many foods including salmon salad, cherry tomatoes and fresh goat cheese.
“Adriatico” is the name of this new line of three white wines. Each wine is made from a different native vinifera grape, in regions (now countries) which border each other on the northern Adriatic Sea: malvasia from the Istrian peninsula in Croatia, ribolla from Slovenia, and friulano (of course) from the Friuli region of Italy.
In June 2005 I joined a mixed group—Croatian winemakers, restaurateurs, professors, and journalists—to sail the Adriatic from the Istrian peninsula of Croatia to the Greek locality of Monemvasia, off the eastern coast of the Peloponnese. We boarded two 65-foot yachts that set sail on a Malvasia Mediterranea MMV expedition whose aim was to discover the true roots of the ancient malvasia grape variety.
The oldest country in Europe is creating some of the newest wine experiences. The tide has finally turned, a distributor in the Northeastern U.S. recently told me.
Frascati has been around a long time. Fontana Candida is one of the oldest and biggest producers of Frascati. The region is made up of five villages near Rome where the malvasia grape grows in volcanic soils. This light-colored white wine is not the lighter style associated with many Italian whites. The Malvasia and Trebbiano blend gives nice pear and almond flavors with a surprisingly long finish. At $10, it's a great way to try a different summer wine. Read more at Howard’s blog, Grape Sense.