10 Things You Didn’t Know About Canarian Wine

From Shakespeare and the British upper classes to wars, revolution and the independece of the United States: the history of Canarian wine goes far beyond its volcanoes.

Long before the Canary Islands became known for their beaches, climate and volcanic landscapes, Europe already knew them for something else: their wine.

For centuries, the wines of the archipelago travelled along some of the world's most important trade routes. They reached the tables of Britain's upper classes, appeared in Shakespeare's plays, accompanied major expeditions and became connected to historical episodes that today seem almost unbelievable.

Here are ten stories that might change the way you look at Canarian wine.

1. The Canary Islands preserved vines that much of Europe lost

In the late nineteenth century, phylloxera devastated European vineyards, forcing much of the continent to rebuild its vineyards using resistant American rootstocks.

The Canary Islands historically remained outside that devastation, allowing many vines to survive ungrafted, on their own roots, while preserving exceptionally old plant material.

In 2025, phylloxera was detected for the first time in Tenerife, where control and eradication measures are currently in place.

2. For more than a century, Canarian wine was a drink of Britain's upper classes

Wine from the Canary Islands reached England more than 500 years ago and became extraordinarily popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Known as Canary or Malmsey, it was associated with Britain's upper classes for generations and became one of the most expensive wines available in England.

At the time, drinking Canary meant drinking one of Europe's prestigious wines.

3. Shakespeare wrote about Canarian wine

Its fame was such that William Shakespeare mentioned it in several of his plays. In Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch exclaims:

“O knight, thou lack’st a cup of canary!”

And it was not the only time. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Canarian wine appears again when the characters speak of going to drink canary with Falstaff.

4. Kings, admirals and future presidents knew Canarian wine

Malvasía and other Canarian wines circulated among some of the most influential figures of their time.

Historical sources link these wines with figures including King Charles III of Spain, Admiral Horatio Nelson and Thomas Jefferson, among others.

Canarian wine was not simply an island product: for centuries it formed part of an international network of trade, diplomacy and prestige.

5. The Canarian wine trade became connected to American independence

Merchants based in Tenerife maintained links with the American colonies and with figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris, one of the principal financiers of the American Revolution.

Historical documentation connects those commercial networks - in which Canarian wine played an important role - with the financing of the independence cause.

An unexpected connection between a small Atlantic archipelago and one of the events that would change modern history.

6. Not even war between England and Spain completely stopped the trade

During the Anglo-Spanish War in the late sixteenth century, trade between the two territories was officially restricted.

But the business was too important.

Some English merchants resorted to strategies that allowed them to continue trading, including passing themselves off as merchants of other nationalities, such as Scots.

The wine kept finding its way across the Atlantic.

7. Nelson tried to conquer Tenerife - and left with its wine

In 1797, Admiral Horatio Nelson led the British attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The operation ended in defeat, and Nelson lost part of his right arm.

After the battle, an unusual exchange took place between Nelson and General Antonio Gutiérrez: the British admiral sent beer and cheese as a gesture of courtesy, and the Canarian general responded by sending him Malvasía from Tenerife.

He tried to conquer the island. He failed.

But he left with its wine.

8. Canarian wine travelled with some of history's great explorers

Wines from Tenerife also accompanied maritime expeditions during the age of exploration.

Figures such as James Cook, William Bligh and George Vancouver are linked to its consumption and provisioning, and Tenerife wine even travelled aboard the First Fleet, the British fleet that arrived in Australia in 1788.

A bottle of Canarian wine could quite literally end up on the other side of the world.

9. There was a revolt in which wine ran through the streets

In 1666, the enormous influence English merchants had acquired over Tenerife's wine business triggered an uprising known as the Wine Spill of Garachico.

Local producers broke into cellars and destroyed barrels, spilling large quantities of wine in protest against English control of the trade.

An economic revolt in which wine itself became a symbol of resistance.

10. Some wines crossed the Atlantic... only to come back

There were so-called return wines: barrels that travelled by sea to the Americas and later returned to the Canary Islands or Europe.

The voyage exposed the wine to constant movement, time and changing temperatures, altering the way it evolved.

Wines that had crossed the ocean and returned developed a particular reputation and could be especially prized.

Much more than volcanic wine

Today, it is easy to reduce the Canary Islands to a single image: volcanoes, black soils and vines growing in seemingly impossible landscapes.

But that is only part of the story.

For centuries, Canarian wine was connected with Britain's upper classes, Shakespeare, explorers, wars, revolutions, transatlantic trade and some of the most important figures of their time.

Before millions of people travelled to the Canary Islands, Canarian wine had already travelled the world.

And perhaps that is one of the archipelago's least-known stories.