Top English chef Rick Stein was in Monemvasia in southern Greece recently filming with the BBC for his Venice to Istanbul series.
 
During his trip he visited the Monemvasia Winery where he tasted their Malvasia 2010 - an updated version of an old fortified wine type from the Middle Ages!

Malvasia is a group of white wine grape varieties that were traditionally grown in the Mediterranean region and thought to have originated in ancient Crete. The name Malvasia itself is thought to be derived from the name Monemvasia, the fortress and surrounding area in the Southern Peleponnese that Rick visited. Monemvasia in Italian was called Malvasia and in medieval times the wines produced in the region were a major export to the rest of Europe. 
 
Rick confused a lot of people by calling it 'Malmsey' or 'Marmsi' which in recent times is more commonly used for Madiera type sweet wines typically from Portugal. The Monemvasia Winery however produces its own unique take on the medieval version and we have had a lot of questions regarding where people can find this sweet, fruity wine and if we carry it. Well we do!

 

It is the above mentioned Malvasia from the Monemvasia Winery - a fantastic Greek wine that we are happy to be able to ship to the UK, Europe and the USA. For customers in other countries get in touch with us and we will let you know if we can ship to you!


You can read more about the Monemvasia grape variety in our wine wiki. Nowadays it is used to produce a number of respectable whites (and roses, usually when combined with Mandilaria).  Explore the relatively few wines being made with the original Cretan variety here. 

 

Update 2023: We see Rick must be getting some air time in Australia (again!) because we are getting a lot of questions about if we send to the 'land down under'! Short answer is we do! As always shipping costs per bottle are better for larger orders so consider ordering for friends and family in one go. For any further questions, as always, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below!