Of the hundreds of families that have produced and supplied Madeira over the past two centuries, only four remain today: Blandy, Borges, D'Oliveira and Barbeito. The first three of them are proud heirs who survived since the nineteenth century, while Barbeitos entered the business much later, only in 1946. This is a particularly dark and difficult period for Madeira, as during World War II production and sales literally stopped, the American market disappeared due to a government ban, and for six years looting submarines made it almost impossible to deliver wine to the most important market for Madeira, the United Kingdom. This does not despair Barbeito, who produces and leaves his Madeiras to mature and age, building his business around more modest Madeiras. In the 1970s, his daughter Manuela gradually took over the business and began to bring to light - and sell - her father's priceless old vintages. Thanks to her efforts, the now famous Barbeito wines such as 1795 Terrantez, 1834 and 1875 Malvasia and 1863 Bual began to appear regularly at auctions in London. This builds a lasting reputation for the Barbeito name among Madeira collectors. In the early 1990s, Manuela Barbeito in turn handed over the management to her son Ricardo Freitas, who not only continued to build a deep respect for Madeira's classic roots, but also brought new energy and new ideas to the company.