Madeira Miles Sercial 5 Anos Fortificado

Description

The company that would eventually become Miles Madeira was originally known as Rutherford & Brown, founded on the island of Madeira in 1814. In 1856, Henry Price Miles left England with his family and arrived on Madeira. Having worked as an apprentice from the age of 12 under the tutelage of James Rutherford, he gained solid knowledge and experience in the operation of the Madeira trade. In 1872, the Rutherfords moved to London (because Phylloxera was decimating most vineyards in Madeira) and started a wine‑import business at Old Trinity House in Waterlane. This led Miles to purchase the company and its shares, and later he entered into a gentleman’s agreement with Rutherford that any Madeira sold by them in the UK, Scandinavia or Russia would be bought through HPMiles and Co. A Madeira Wine Company was originally a consortium of several Madeira‑wine producers who decided to unite to strengthen their purchasing and production capacities. This Association was founded in 1913. During the years of discord, the old family firms of Blandy’s and Leacock joined, followed immediately by a dispute involving Miles and Cossart Gordon, creating the largest producer and exporter of Madeira wine. Whatever the size, maintaining the unique characteristics and style of each individual company was at the heart of the Association’s focus. By the late 1970s, the interests in the Madeira Wine Company, as it had become known, were reduced to just a handful of the original families, with the Blandy family holding the controlling share. In 1989, the Blandy family, needing to bolster the sales and marketing side of the business, invited the Symington family from Porto, Portugal, to join them in partnership. This partnership has continued to the present day, allowing the Madeira Wine Company to play a leading role in developing the Madeira wine trade. The bottling year may not match the image presented. (Illustrative image only)