History of the Jews in Madeira History of the Jews in Madeira History of the Jews in Madeira spans the entire length of the history of Madeira itself, from Crypto-Jews to World War II evacuees. Like the Jews of mainland Portugal, Madeira jews are mainly related to Sephardi history, a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated in the Iberian Peninsula. There was once a Synagogue of Funchal, which is now disused. Menasseh Ben Israel was born in Madeira in 1604. Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in the cloth and wine trades. The Abudarham family from Gibraltar were involved
Madeira wine the second year following the harvesting and are typically batch wines. Because of this unique process, Madeira is a very robust wine that can be quite long lived even after being opened. Some wines produced in small quantities in Crimea, California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira" or "Madera". Most countries conform to the EU PDO regulations and limit the use of the term "Madeira" or "Madère" to only those wines that come from the Madeira Islands. The roots of Madeira's wine industry date back to the Age of Exploration, when Madeira was a regular port of call