Malvasia delle Lipari; Malvasia di Sardegna; Greco di Gerace; Malvasia de Sitges and Malvasia dubrovačka - synonyms of an old and famous grape cultivar

Abstract

Previously believed to be distinct cultivars Malvasia delle Lipari, Malvasia di Sardegna, Greco di Gerace (Italy), Malvasia de Sitges (Spain) and Malvasia dubrovaka (Croatia) displayed an identical molecular profile when analyzed by 15 SSR markers. Ampelographic comparison supports the genetic analysis indicating that they are all the same variety; they do not differ in any important morphological trait. This genotype is scattered all over the Mediterranean area and as far as the Canaries and Madeira. Historical investigation indicates that the genotype has been imported from Greece. However, so far, the search in Greek databases has produced no useful results to confirm this theory. Allele frequency comparison among cultivars from Greece, Croatia, Italy, Spain and Portugal showed that none of these countries can be pinpointed as the 'home country' of this genotype.