It is alleged that when Edward IV of England convicted his brother, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, of high treason, his private execution (1478) consisted of being "drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine", as dramatized in Shakespeare's Richard III.

DNA analysis does, however, suggest that the Athiri wine grape (a variety widely planted throughout Greece) is ancestral to Malvasia.

Legend has it that a soldier from the Almogàvers fleet commanded by Roger de Flor brought a stem of malvasia from eastern Mediterranean.

The grape must, once fermented, gives way to a fragrant, sweet drink with a high alcohol content which is usually drunk after celebrations and after the xatonadas.

Its unusual bouquet is the result of various factors: proximity to the sea, a late harvest and the considerable alcohol content and acidity of the wine.

[11] Malvazija Istarska got the name after peninsula of Istria shared between Croatia, Slovenia and Italy (see also Slovene and Italian varieties).

Malvasia Istriana is also found in the Colli Piacentini region of Emilia, where it is used to make sparkling wine known locally as champagnino or "little Champagne".

Following the Second World War, lack of interest in the consumer market led to a sharp decline in plantings, with many varieties going to the verge of extinction.

[3] Since the 1980s, dessert wines made from the Malvasia delle Lipari variety has seen a resurgence in interest on the volcanic Aeolian Islands off the north east coast of Sicily.

With distinctive orange notes, this Sicilian wine saw its peak of popularity just before the phylloxera epidemic, when more than 2.6 million gallons (100,000 hectoliters) were produced annually.

In recent times, Cabernet Sauvignon has been supplanting Malvasia nera in Tuscany in both planting and in use as a blending partner with Sangiovese.

[3] In Slovenian Istria the malvasia grape is grown in Koper area, especially on Debeli Rtič, Škocjan, Kortina and Labor.

[3] Over matured grapes give a dessert wine with non-fermented sugars and high alcohol level (around 12%) called sweet malvasia (Slovene and Croatian: sladka/slatka malvazija).

Malvasía de Lanzarote is a white variety from the Canary Islands, that may be a natural cross between Mavasi di Lipari and Marmajuelo.

The various varieties of Malvasia are known under a wide range of synonyms including Malvasier in Germany, Malvazija and Malvazia in Istria.

Despite its similar-sounding name, the French grape varieties (it is a widely used synonym) referred to variously as "Malvoisie" are not related to Malvasia.

[3] Other synonyms for the various sub-varieties of Malvasia include Uva Greca, Rojal, Subirat, Blanquirroja, Blancarroga, Tobia, Cagazal and Blanca-Rioja.

Further confusion results from the fact that, in the past, the term "Malmsey" referred to any very sweet Madeira wine, regardless of the grape variety involved.

As a result, most non-vintage-dated "Malmsey" was made from the widely grown Tinta Negra Mole or even from fox grape varieties.

English historical tradition associates Malmsey wine with the death of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence,[16] brother of King Edward IV of England.