History
The island of Madeira was discovered in 1419 by the Portuguese
mariner João Gonçalves Zarco who had been instructed by Prince
Henry the Navigator to explore the West African Coast. Prince
Henry appointed Zarco first Governor of the island and ordered
him to plant sugar cane and vineyards.
The original impetus to the trade in Madeira was provided in the
late 17th Century by the King of Portugal, Felipe I, who ordered that
ships bound for the new Brazilian colony should call at the island to
take on wine for the settlements that he was developing there.
By the reign of the English King, Charles II, demand for Madeira
was firmly established along the North American seaboard. Indeed
the wine played such an important part in the American way of life
that it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence (July 4th
1776) and the Inauguration of George Washington (first President
of the United States -1789) who, it was said, “drank a pint of
Madeira at dinner daily.”
Substantial investment has also been made bringing the entire
production process up to today’s exacting standards. 2000 saw
the completion of a major renovation project to the wine making
installation in Funchal, providing improved facilities for the
blending and storage of the company’s fine wines.
The company greatly increased its stocks of ageing wine and
undertook a policy of maturing a significant proportion of its wines
by the traditional “Canteiro” system of gently warming the wines in
the lofts of the Funchal lodges rather than by the modern system of
“estufagem” whereby the wines are artificially heated in large tanks.
The Old Blandy Wine Lodge in the centre of Funchal is visited
by some 200,000 people per year and acts as an excellent show
place for many the finest wines of Madeira. It also includes a special
tasting room solely devoted to Frasqueira-Vintage Madeiras.
After a period of decline in sales (which had become somewhat
overlooked in the present century, partly because the great number
of ships which used to call at Madeira had dropped to just a few per
month) Madeira Wine has now re-awoken global interest.
Miles Madeira
The origins of the Madeira Wine Company started in 1913 when
two companies, Welsh & Cunha and Henriques & Camara, joined
forces to form the Madeira Wine Association Lda.Through the lean
years that followed more companies joined to ensure their survival
by reducing costs and pooling production whilst maintaining
commercial independence.
Blandy’s and Leacock’s amalgamated their interests and joined
the association in 1925. The chairman of this newly enlarged
enterprise was John Ernest Blandy, supported by Thomas L.
Mullins as Managing Director who had previously looked after the
Blandy’s wine company.
Other companies joined the association in the years that
followed. The spirit of the union, ably organised by Tom Mullins, was to
maintain the individuality of the different companies together with their
respective styles of wines while at the same time reducing overheads.
During the 1980s the Blandy family, who by now controlled the
Madeira Wine Company and whose family had lived continuously
on the island since 1811, realised that the business needed to find a
partner who could help them develop the company’s brands profile
and world-wide distribution. They approached the Symington
family, who they had known for many years. The Symingtons
brought an extensive world-wide distribution network and a total
quality approach as well as valuable winemaking experience gained
through their many years as leading members of the Port Trade.
The Symingtons subsequently took on a partnership with the
Blandy’s in 1989 and since then much time and effort has been
invested in improving the packaging and reinforcing the distribution
network of the Madeira Wine Company’s well known brands.
The firm that was eventually to become
Miles Madeira was originally known as
Rutherford & Brown, established on the
Island of Madeira in 1814.
In 1856 Henry Price Miles left England with his family and
arrived in Madeira. Having worked as an apprentice since the age
of 12 under the tutelage of James Rutherford, he acquired sound
knowledge and experience of the workings of the Madeira trade.
In 1872 the Rutherfords left for London (due to Phylloxera which
decimated most of the vineyards in Madeira) and started up a wine
importing business at the Old Trinity House in Waterlane. This
prompted Miles to purchase the company and stocks and he later
made a gentleman's agreement with Rutherford that any Madeira
sold by them in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, or Russia would
be bought through H.P.Miles and Co.This agreement was respected
and carried on until the Rutherfords sold their firm Rutherfords,
Osborne and Perkins to Martini Rossi in the 1960's.
Together with the wine production, H.P.Miles created the first
brewery in Madeira in 1872 called the "Atlantic Brewery". It was
in these two companies that he and his 2 sons, Henry Alfred and
Charles Vaughan created the Miles legacy on the Island.
After the end of World War II, conditions in the wine trade
became extremely difficult and Henry Alfred Miles' son, Cecil Miles
negotiated the entry of H.P.Miles and Co. into the Madeira Wine
Association. All the wine stocks and buildings were incorporated into
the M.W.A and today the actual Madeira Wine Company's bottling
plant is situated in the old Miles' adega at Largo da Saude. One of the
lodges continues to be used exclusively for the ageing and maturation
of the Miles' Frasqueira-Vintages and older blended wines.
Miles Madeira is synonymous with excellent Madeira wine and
has become one of the best known and most respected brands in
the world.
VINEYARD BRANDS, INC
www.vineyardbrands.com
Madeira Wine Company