A highlight of this period are the famous return wines, which traveled first to America, to later return and, once agitated by the oceans that improved and aged more quickly, to be sold in European markets, where they were highly appreciated.
As a trace of the splendid past and a reflection of the wealth that, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the wine trade with America and Europe promoted on the island of Tenerife, luxury furniture and civil and religious buildings built in these years, as well as innumerable literary quotes from relevant authors of the time who sang to the advance of the Canarian Malvasia.
That the Malvasia de Tenerife was considered one of the best, if not the best, in the world, is proven by the fact that the official poet of the English Court, William Shakespeare, annually receives a barrel of this Tenerife wine as part of his salary.
Shakespeare repeatedly praises our Malvasia and becomes, not only his undisputed champion, but also his greatest propagandist. His characters from “King Henry IV“, “Twelfth Night or however you want” or “The Merry Wives of Windsor” savor the “…Canarias, wonderfully penetrating wine that perfumes the blood”.
And there must have been something in that wine that exalted inspiration and satisfied the literary muses, when many other authors, such as Walter Scott, Alexis, Kuprin, Percy Shelley, John Keats, Goldoni, also attest to their preferences through their works. Gongora, Maine Red, and Jose Spillman.
That the Malvasia de Tenerife was considered one of the best, if not the best, in the world, is proven by the fact that the official poet of the English Court, William Shakespeare, annually receives a barrel of this Tenerife wine as part of his salary.
Shakespeare repeatedly praises our Malvasia and becomes, not only his undisputed champion, but also his greatest propagandist. His characters from “King Henry IV“, “Twelfth Night or however you want” or “The Merry Wives of Windsor” savor the “…Canarias, wonderfully penetrating wine that perfumes the blood”.
And there must have been something in that wine that exalted inspiration and satisfied the literary muses, when many other authors, such as Walter Scott, Alexis, Kuprin, Percy Shelley, John Keats, Goldoni, also attest to their preferences through their works. Gongora, Maine Red, and Jose Spillman.