Mantonico Bianco is a productive white wine grape variety grown in Calabria in its native Italy. It is adept at both dry and sweet wines, the latter especially renowned for its exotic fruit notes. The vine is robust in terms of resistance to both drought and disease.

Where grown: In Calabria  it is found mainly along Calabria’s lower Ionian (or eastern) coast, in Reggio Calabria province. Key towns include Locri, Monasterace, and Palazzi plus Bianco and Casignana.

DOC wines: Lamezia DOC (85-100%) and Savuto DOC.

Wine style: Tannic with high acidity, similar to but a notch down from Greco Bianco.

Bibliography

See Dr Ian d’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press, 2014).