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