J. Faria

According to history, Madeira wine's main mentor was Prince Henry the Navigator, who encouraged the cultivation of the Malvasia Candida grape from Candia de Crete on Madeira Island, which proved to be a success. By the mid-fifteenth century, Madeira wine was already being exported and its export routes included Europe, where it was considered a more refined wine and was even used as perfume for the handkerchiefs of court ladies. Such was the prestige of this nectar that it is often mentioned in the history, art and legends of certain nations.