Winemaker Luís Lourenço likes to serve this 100 percent Malvasia Fina with baked sea bass and roasted tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers and herbs. (Or with any mild fish that’s fresh, and preferably wild and local — I recently roasted porgy, and the wine paired excellently). The pale-straw Malvasia Fina, with its floral and lemon-lime bouquet, is quite dry and fresh on the palate with impressive depth and intense flavors. Balanced minerality and acidity keep the wine round and upbeat, and its long finish is accented by delicate flavors of rain and honey.

About a year ago, I took an extensive wine tour throughout Portugal. One of my most memorable stops was in the Dão, where I visited the vineyard of Quinta das Maias. There, I was lucky enough to meet Luís and taste some of his wines. His Quinta das Maias Malvasia Fina stood out as an exceptional, delicious wine, and I knew then that I wanted to offer it at 67 Wine. Since Luís had not previously exported to the States, we worked together to find a way to bring this wine to the store. The work paid off and I am both excited and proud to offer it to my customers.

The grape Malvasia Fina goes by many names, from Malmsey in English to Malvasier in German to Malvasijiein in Croatian. Legend holds that this grape was disseminated from the Greek island port of Monemvasia, a trading hub for the wines of the region. However, recent DNA testing has revealed that not all grapes called ‘Malvasia’ are related. This we know: the Quinta das Maias Malvasia Fina is dry, floral, and emblematic of the granitic soils in which it is grown.