Blandy's Madeira

The Blandy family is the only one of the original founders of the Madeira wine trade that still owns and manages its original wine company. Throughout its history on the island it has played a leading role in the development of Madeira wine, and family members still live in Madeira, in a tradition that goes back to 1811.

John Blandy arrived in Madeira early in 1808, for health reasons, with a letter of introduction from London. In 1811 he founded his wine shipping and trading business with his brothers Thomas and George, soon exporting to Russia, Northern Europe, the Antilles and North America. In 1840 he bought "The Blandy Wine Lodge" in Funchal, also known as Adegas de São Francisco. His son Charles Ridpath Blandy continued the business and, during the oidium plague of 1852, bought up a large share of the island's old wine stocks, securing the company's future.

In 1925 Blandy's joined the Madeira Wine Company which, led by the family, survived very hard years for exports. In 1989 the family invited the Symingtons, Port producers, into a partnership that continues today. In 2000 it launched "Blandy's Malmsey 1994 Harvest", the first dated Madeira other than the rare Vintage Madeiras, creating a new category of premium Madeira.

Today Michael and Chris Blandy, of the 6th and 7th generations, work in the company, run by Chris, the world's leading producer of premium Madeira, which continues to lead the way in re-establishing Madeira as one of the world's great wines.