Canary Sack: when Canary Island wines conquered Europe

There was a time when Canary Island wines were prized at the European courts and crossed the Atlantic to the tables of England. Their fame even reached the works of William Shakespeare. Behind that splendour, however, lies a story of trade, political rivalries and international treaties that would change the destiny of our wines forever.

The birth of an Atlantic wine power

After the conquest and incorporation of the Canary Islands into the Crown of Castile at the end of the 15th century, the vine began to spread across the archipelago. During the 16th century, wine gradually became one of the islands' great economic engines.

The geographical position of the Canary Islands was decisive. Lying on the sea routes that linked Europe, Africa and America, the islands held a strategic place in Atlantic trade. The ships crossing these waters carried all kinds of goods, and among their most prized cargoes were Canary wines.

Tenerife took on a special role thanks to its exports of Malvasía, while other parts of the archipelago also took part in this flourishing trade. English demand grew until wine became one of the main goods traded between the Canary Islands and northern Europe.

By the mid-17th century, trade with England had reached an extraordinary scale. In the Orotava valley, winegrowing generated wealth and attracted many foreign merchants. Canary wine wasn't just a local product: it was a prestigious commodity that had found its place in international markets.

What exactly was Canary Sack?

In 16th- and 17th-century England, the term sack was used for certain imported wines, especially white wines from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. Expressions such as Canary Sack identified the wines associated with the archipelago, while other names, such as Sherry Sack, referred to wines from other places.

We shouldn't understand it as a designation of origin in today's sense, nor as a wine always made with a single technique. It was a historical and commercial term whose meaning depended on the context.

Among the most prized Canary wines was Malvasía, valued for its aromatic richness, its concentration and its sweet character. Its reputation crossed borders and found an audience willing to pay for those wines arriving from islands in the middle of the Atlantic.

At a time when sea transport was slow, risky and expensive, products arriving from distant lands could take on a special aura. Canary wines had exactly those qualities: personality, prestige and a commercial history that linked them to some of Europe's major cities.

Shakespeare also wrote about Canary wine

Few stories illustrate the fame of these wines better than their presence in English literature.

William Shakespeare included references to Canary wine in his works. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, the character Sir John Falstaff shows his fondness for sack, a drink closely linked in the English culture of the time to wines imported from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands.

We also find references to Canary in other works of English literature from the period. These accounts help us understand how deeply wine had entered the cultural imagination of British society.

It's worth noting that sack wasn't a term exclusive to Canary wines and that a literary reference doesn't always make it possible to identify with certainty the origin of each wine mentioned. Even so, the presence of Canary in literature is an extraordinary sign of the recognition our wines achieved.

The Canary Islands had achieved something few wine regions could boast of: their wines had become part of the conversations, habits and cultural references of one of the great European societies of its time.

When success began to turn into a problem

The growth of trade also brought tensions. As demand increased, the price of Canary wine rose and English merchants looked for ways to control the business and improve their margins.

In 1665, the English Crown promoted the creation of the so-called Canary Company, a privileged company that aimed to control trade with the islands and to buy wines on terms favourable to English interests.

The initiative met with deep rejection from many Canary producers and merchants. The attempt to impose more advantageous trading conditions for the company threatened the growers' profits and their freedom to sell their wines.

The tension reached one of its most dramatic moments in Garachico, in Tenerife, in 1666. The trade conflict and the producers' resistance led to the events known as the Derrame del Vino (the Wine Spill), associated with the destruction of wine in protest against the conditions imposed on trade.

The company was dissolved in 1667, but the episode left a deep mark. Trade relations had deteriorated and Canary wine was beginning to face an increasingly difficult situation.

Added to this conflict were the restrictions of English maritime trade, the rivalries between European powers and the dependence of Canary producers on foreign markets and merchants. The splendour of Canary wine rested, to a large extent, on trade networks that the islands did not fully control.

The Methuen Treaty: a new piece on the trading board

If the 17th century had shown the fragility of Canary trade, the beginning of the 18th brought a new configuration of European economic relations.

On 27 December 1703, England and Portugal signed what is known as the Methuen Treaty, also called the Port Wine Treaty. The agreement established reciprocal trade advantages: Portugal eased the entry of English woollen cloth, while England granted Portuguese wines favourable tariff treatment compared with French wines.

The treaty wasn't specifically designed to harm the Canary Islands, but it helped strengthen Portugal's position in the British market. Portuguese wines, including those that would later become famous under the name of Port, benefited from a favourable trading framework that boosted their export opportunities.

To understand its importance, we have to look beyond the agreement itself. Competition between wine regions didn't depend only on quality or consumer preferences: it was also shaped by taxes, political alliances, sea routes and access to markets.

Canary wines had already suffered serious difficulties during the second half of the 17th century. The trade crisis, the conflicts with English merchants and the restrictions on trade routes had weakened their position. Methuen came later, in a context in which relations between England and Portugal were growing closer and Portuguese wines were gaining competitive advantages.

The Methuen Treaty doesn't explain the decline of Canary Sack on its own, but it helps us understand the new international scene in which Canary wines had to compete. Diplomatic decisions taken thousands of kilometres from the vineyards could have direct consequences for the islands' producers.

The history of Canary wine is also the story of how the great European powers used trade to defend their economic interests.

From commercial splendour to historical legacy

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Canary wines had achieved a privileged position in certain European markets. However, the combination of political conflicts, trade restrictions, changing tastes and international competition gradually eroded that position.

There was no single date on which Canary wine lost all its importance. It was a gradual process, with different causes and consequences, which affected the producing areas and their merchants unevenly.

The story of Canary Sack reminds us that even the most prestigious wines can be exposed to changes that go far beyond the vineyard and the winery.

But the decline of a commercial era didn't mean the disappearance of Canary wine culture. The accumulated knowledge, the varieties grown and the adaptation to the islands' particular conditions remained part of the archipelago's agricultural heritage.

A story that deserves to return to the glass

Today, when we uncork a Canary wine, we're not always aware of the historical depth behind it.

The archipelago's viticulture is the result of centuries of adaptation, exchange and knowledge. Its varieties, its volcanic landscapes and its ways of growing vines make up a unique heritage that deserves to be known and valued.

The story of Canary Sack reminds us that the Canary Islands were not just a stopover on the Atlantic routes. They were also a land producing wines capable of capturing the interest of merchants, travellers and writers in some of Europe's main markets.

As a sommelier, I believe that knowing this history enriches the way we approach wine. Each bottle holds aromas and flavours, but it also keeps the memory of those who worked the land, made the wine and carried it, centuries ago, far beyond our shores.

Canary wine has a past, a present and a future. And knowing its history is another way of enjoying it.

Iván Monreal Somm. Culture, history and passion for wine.

If you like wine with a story, discover the themed tastings of the Wine Club, the training for hospitality or write to me to organise a private experience.

Back to the blog