For 200 years, Blandy's Madeira has been synonymous with quality Madeira wine. Blandy's is the only family of all the founders of the Madeira wine trade to still own and run its own original Madeira wine company. The family has played a significant role in leading the development of Madeira wine throughout its history, and family members continue to live in Madeira, maintaining a tradition that dates back to 1811.
The Madeira Wine Company was originally an association of several Madeira wine producing companies that decided to join forces to strengthen their wine purchasing and production capabilities. This association was founded in 1913. During the years of discord, the old family businesses of Blandy's and Leacock joined, followed immediately by the dispute of Miles and Cossart Gordon, thus creating the largest producer and exporter of Madeira wine. Whatever the size, maintaining the unique characteristics and style of each individual company was central to the association's focus. By the late 1970s, interests in the Madeira Wine Company, as it became known, were reduced to just a handful of the original families, with the Blandy family holding the controlling stake. In 1989, the Blandy family, needing to strengthen the sales and marketing aspect of the business, invited the Symington family from Porto, Portugal, to join them in partnership. This partnership has continued to this day, allowing the Madeira Wine Company to play a leading role in the development of the Madeira wine trade.
