Malvasia Malmsey was one of the three major wines exported from Greece in medieval times. (For other examples, see Rumney wine and Cretan wine). It is alleged that when Edward IV of England convicted his brother, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, of high treason, his private execution consisted of being "drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine," which is dramatized in Shakespeare's "Richard III". Both Monemvasia and Candia have lent their names to modern grape varieties. In Greece, there is a variety known as Monemvasia, evidently named after the port, though now grown primarily in the Cyclades. In western Europe,
Hired armed cutter Duke of Clarence Brent Clements. Clements received the mission to take "Duke of Clarence" to patrol between the Minquiers and Chausey to meet a boat bringing intelligence from France. On 24 November 1804, "Duke of Clarence" sighted a large French lugger and set off in chase, with the hired armed cutter "Albion" joining in. The lugger's crew ran their boat on shore near Granville, Manche. "Duke of Clarence" sent a boat in to examine the lugger, which turned out to have a cargo of oysters and cider. As "Duke of Clarence" awaited her boat's return she hit a submerged rock with the result