Malvasia Bianca in Washington: A Floral, Dry, Electric Reinvention
Malvasia Bianca: A Washington State Wine Worth Drinking Now
We often make wines without a roadmap, our 2025 Malvasia Bianca holds true to this statement. With no local precedent to lean on, Bart approached this wine with nothing but instinct and the house signature: fruit-forwardness and vibrant acidity.
Though bone-dry, its aromatics leap from the glass, creating an almost explosive sensory impression. It drinks like hand-crafted perfume. Floral, expressive, and at its price, unexpectedly generous, nearly indulgent.
Bart put it best when asked about first reactions:
“I want one of those.”
The History of Malvasia Bianca: From Greece to Washington
Malvasia’s journey is a long and winding one, beginning on the fortified cliffs of Monemvasia in Greece, carried by Venetian traders across the Mediterranean, and revered in the golden age of Madeira’s Malmsey wines.
For centuries, it was one of the most celebrated grapes in the world, its sweet, perfumed wines gracing royal courts and merchant ships alike. But like Carménère, Malvasia Bianca was nearly lost to time. Phylloxera (vine rot) decimated its plantings, modern tastes shifted, and the grape was often sidelined into anonymous blends or mistaken for something else entirely.
What we’re seeing now is a rediscovery. A once-prized varietal returning not to its former glory, but to something arguably more meaningful: a new expression rooted in intention.
The work being done in Washington is a newly written chapter in the larger Malvasia Bianca mythos.
Why Malvasia Bianca Thrives in Eastern Washington's Climate
A Mediterranean wine being made in Washington state introduces an interesting fold. If you’ve ever been to Washington state or anywhere near you will know that this area is in fact not at all like the Mediterranean. Eastern Washington has hot, arid summers with cool nights and low humidity with long daylight hours. The dry air is important here as it solves that Phylloxera problem, combined with hot days that build aromatics and cool nights that help retain that acidity. It all adds up to a surprisingly good balance.
For contrast, if you were to compare renditions of this grape from Friuli (Northeast Italy), they often have cooler temperatures with a little oceanic influence resulting in a lighter, more mineral-driven, white with higher acidity yet less of that lush fruit forwardness. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Texas High Plains, very hot and very dry, results in a more tropical and citrus tone, while picking with swiftness to preserve acidity.
Washington, although not an obvious choice, actually represents a wonderful middle-point on that spectrum that allows you to enjoy both aromatics and acidic structure for a food friendly experience.
How Bartholomew Winery Turned Malvasia Bianca into a Signature Wine
Malvasia Bianca was a relatively uncharted grape for Washington and Bart was specifically looking for an aromatic white wine to replace the Viognier he used to make, or to at least hold its spot. Stumbling upon a small block, the first vintage was only 300 liters! Initially experimental, the process evolved into a measured process grounded in sensory goals:
“I was flying blind,” he admits,
“I had a direction in mind, which was aromatic, medium acid, and lower alcohol.”
Even on the matter of picking Bart says, “We have certain markers we’re looking for in the vineyard,” he explains, and once the fruit hits that sweet spot, it’s picked, not a day sooner.
Malvasia Bianca Tasting Notes: Floral Nose, Bone-Dry Finish
Each of the two vineyard lots is fermented separately with two distinct yeast strains, then blended after fermentation. This technique allows for a nuanced layering of aromatics and texture, building harmony between the heady nose and the bone-dry palate. The result is a wine that challenges expectations: lush and floral up front, but clean, mineral, and unexpectedly dry on the finish.
It presents an aromatic paradox: the nose suggests sweetness, but the palate stays disciplined. While Bart remains open to coloring outside the lines (“Maybe one year we’ll leave some residual sugar”), the current expression is tight, focused, and purposeful.
Malvasia Bianca and Carmenere: Two Forgotten Grapes Making a Comeback
Malvasia fits our approach, it’s another stone laid in pursuit of broadening palates with unconventional and overshadowed varietals.
These wines have a soul and a story, we’re simply stewards of the next chapter. Malvasia moves more from the experiment stage to the statement stage on our shelves, and it now shares shelf space, and philosophy, with another survivor: Carménère. Both grapes ventured between popularity and obscurity, surviving Phylloxera, then being revived in new soils by winemakers willing to listen.
Malvasia Bianca's Value: Affordable, High-Quality White Wine
The real statement is made in the glass.
Our intention is to overdeliver. Truthfully, we would rather offer the rare generously and make our otherwise inaccessible wines accessible, we believe in them that much. The real joy and payoff is discovery.
Why Malvasia Bianca Represents the Future of Washington Wine
Malvasia Bianca is ideally a sign of what’s to come from Washington. The grape is climate resilient, naturally suited to thrive in the warm, arid vineyards of Eastern Washington, and capable of producing expressive, aromatic wines without excess intervention. It’s a sustainable choice with decades of vintages ahead of it. Putting this wine on the map now, while it’s still rare, paves the way for future winemakers, exactly as Bart Fawbush hopes:
“I hope others start making this wine.”
Upon tasting it, that hope feels inevitable. Floral, dry, electric, the wine nearly leaps out of the glass with urgency. It doesn’t ask for patience. It says: Drink me now.
Seeing the price, that message only gets louder.
The wine world is big, this bottle is another sip of proof.
*Malvasia Bianca available 2/12*
