Funchal's Wine Families: Blandy's and D'Oliveiras

The house tells how John Blandy reached Madeira in 1808 with a letter saying he came for his health; by 1811 he was exporting wine from Funchal. Chris Blandy, the seventh generation, runs the company today. Walk into the family's lodge on Avenida Arriaga, where the tasting rooms need no booking, and tour its casks. Then walk 450 m uphill to D'Oliveiras, a family house since 1850, behind the Jesuit College's 1619 students' doorway, for a free pour. End at the fishermen's 15th-century chapel in the old town.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Find the Harvest on the Max Römer Walls History · Free

   Free: walk into the house's painted tasting room.

   The house tells how John Blandy reached Madeira in 1808 with a letter saying he came for his health; by 1811 he was exporting wine from Funchal.

   Where: Blandy's Wine Lodge, Avenida Arriaga 28.

   What: walk in; tasting rooms and shops need no reservation. Find the Max Römer room and its murals of grape picking and winemaking by the Hamburg-born painter (1878–1960). Then find the Frasqueira room, where the house says some wines date back to the 18th century.

   Backup: A Loja do Vinho, beside the entrance.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Follow the Barrels on the Premium Tour Wine · Price: moderate

   45 minutes among the house's barrels, ending with three Madeiras.

   Book the Premium Tour: €23, 45 minutes, led by the house's brand ambassadors in English, Portuguese, German, French or Spanish.

   What: walk the cooperage, the canteiro ageing rooms and the satinwood vats; the house counts over 650 barrels and vats. In the museum, find Winston Churchill's letters of thanks for gifts of wine and a wooden lagar the house dates to the 17th century. Three wines end it: name each one's grape and age.

   Backup: tour full? Order a self-guided four-glass flight, no booking.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Read the 1619 Doorway, Then Taste at D'Oliveiras Wine · Free

   A 1619 Jesuit doorway, then a free three-wine pour.

   Where: walk about 450 m (6 minutes) uphill to Rua dos Ferreiros 107, past the Igreja do Colégio.

   What: read the stone doorway first: a Mannerist portal with the royal arms of Portugal and a plaque referring to 1619. It was the Jesuit College's students' entrance; the D'Oliveira family, in business since 1850, bought it in 1911. Inside, anyone can taste three Madeiras free, sometimes with bolo de mel; older wines may cost a fee.

   How: Monday to Friday 09:00–18:00, Saturday 09:30–13:00.

   Backup: read the doorway from the street.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Find the Fishermen's Doorway in the Old Town Adventure · Free

   Free, outdoors: the story ends at a 15th-century fishermen's chapel.

   The story goes that Madeira's taste was found at sea, in the heat of a long voyage.

   Where: walk about 15 minutes to Rua de Santa Maria, lined with some 200 painted doors, to the Capela do Corpo Santo.

   What: Funchal's fishermen built it at the end of the 15th century for São Pedro Gonçalves Telmo, protector of fishermen and sailors. Only a simple pointed-arch portal survives from then: find it. If it is open, find the saint blessing a Manueline caravel.

   Backup: walk on to the Igreja do Socorro.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• On a Saturday, go to D'Oliveiras first: it closes at 13:00 and does not open on Sunday, while Blandy's opens every day.

• Bottles bought at Blandy's can be collected at the Portfolio shop after airport security, so they fly as hand luggage.

• Book the Premium Tour ahead: cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, and email replies can take more than 48 hours.

• Children under 6 tour Blandy's free; ages 6 to 17 pay €8.40.