Monemvasia - Grape Variety

Monemvasia is a fortified town on an island in the Peloponnese and it was from here that the celebrated, historic wine Malvasia was shipped to Venice, where it was a favourite of wine drinkers in the Middle Ages. (It is thought that the word Malvasia is derived from Monemvasia, although it has yet to be shown that Monemvasia is related to any of the many disparate varieties that include the word Malvasia in their name.) The most extensive plantings of Monemvasia are in the Cyclades, especially Paros, but it is gaining in popularity around the country, with new vineyards planted in Lakonia on the Peloponnese.