Fajã dos Padres
Cliff-foot seaside estate reached by cable car, with historic Malmsey vines and tropical orchards.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Fajã dos Padres, on Madeira's south coast, follows a single grape: Malvasia Cândida, the original Malmsey, tended on this rubble shelf by Jesuit priests. It moves from their sixteenth-century vineyards to the fungus and root-eating insect that swept the island's vines in the nineteenth century. You'll hear why a ledge reachable only by boat until the late nineties mattered so much. Best heard standing near the vines at the foot of the cliff.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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