South Side Madeira Association

[Bob Stern]

Is there any information, new or old, regarding the legitimacy of this company or their products? I have seen their wines listed in old auction records, but have also read that there has been some question as to whether the wines are fakes. Thanks

[Bob Stern]

i think I actually may have found the answer....more later.

[Andreas Platt]

Is now already later?

[Eric Ifune]

Formerly a reputable shipper. I've had several nice bottles.

[Glenn E.]

Necrothread?

This was from 2011.

[Andreas Platt]

Better late than never.

[Alan Gardner]

I’m still in touch with Bob Stern – and alerted him to the ‘outstanding answer’!

He forwarded some correspondence in which some (but not all) participants gave info ‘in confidence’. {My words}.
However, I have extracted some salient points and hope these are helpful.

IVM/IVBAM report: [Regarding] “SOUTH SIDE MADEIRA ASSOCIATION, LDA.”, the only documents we have are 2 letters, from 11th December 1985, informing the Institute that they were finishing their activity, as well as one from Companhia Vinícola da Madeira, Lda. stating that their associate “SOUTH SIDE MADEIRA ASSOCIATION, LDA.” had ceased its activity of exporter. Therefore, we believe, since we only found export data from Companhia Vinícola da Madeira, Lda., that this company owned the brand “SOUTH SIDE MADEIRA ASSOCIATION, LDA. [SMA]” What we also know is that, in 1985, the wines from Companhia Vinícola da Madeira, Lda. were transferred to Vinhos Justino Henriques & Filhos, Lda., now known as Justino’s, Madeira Wines, S.A.”.

My own editing of the various notes results in this summary:

It may be that the SMA was just an exporting brand of the CVM. A theory is that it was an export brand for the German or European market, since this is where the majority of bottles have surfaced. The style of bottling is similar. Both bottlings have wicker tops. And if the SMA T 1795 comes from the CVM, it might indeed be the same wine.

Also, the origin of the auction bottles is ‘recorded as’:-
The widow of one of the former importers to Germany was left behind with about two cases of this wine. She gave the wines to a local wine merchant in Germany who knows nothing about Madeira wine, and he turned the wines into money by selling them off at various auction houses. {Of course, a similar ‘Inheritance’ story surrounds several other possibly ‘fake’ bottles – not the SMA}.
Additionally, it appears that all the SMA wines were vintage dated.