The Malvasia Bianca Lunga grape variety is part of the Malvasia family of grape varieties. The name Malvasia refers to many grape varieties, most of them white, but not exclusively, found throughout Italy. Although they have different origins, all these varieties share some basic characteristics: they all have, to varying degrees of intensity, a spicy fragrance of musk and apricot and relatively high residual sugar levels. These characteristics make the Malvasia family of grape varieties particularly suitable for the production of sparkling wines and passiti (dessert wines). The name “Malvasia” derives from a contracted variation of Monembasia, a Byzantine stronghold perched on the rocks of a promontory in the south of the Peloponnese, where sweet wines were produced and then exported throughout Europe by the Venetians under the name of Monemvasia.

The wine made from this variety became extremely popular, so much so that Venice was full of taverns called Malvase, dedicated to its consumption. The Malvasia Bianca Lunga grape variety has existed in Tuscany for centuries and was part of the original recipe for Chianti, completed by Bettino Ricasoli in 1870: it was cultivated in mixed vineyards with Trebbiano Toscano, Sangiovese, and Canaiolo Nero. Hence, the synonym Malvasia del Chianti. The Malvasia Bianca Lunga grape variety is also widely grown in Veneto, Abruzzo, Puglia, Umbria, and Lazio, and is often vinified in blends with Trebbiano Toscano to make both dry and sweet white wines, the most famous of which is Orvieto Bianco DOC.