Madeira Wine Overview
A wine with the name of an island and an island with the name of a Wine!
The History of Madeira Wine
The history of the Island of Madeira and Madeira Wine merge into a rich past with over 500 years of history!
Madeira Wine was first produced 25 years after the arrival of the first settlers on the island of Madeira ...
This fortified wine has the unmistakable energy of the island itself and can be as intense and as energizing as the landscapes of the land that gave its name.
If you come to Madeira be sure to get to know this wine. Do it, try it without prejudice, and you may be surprised at its versatility not only as an aperitif or digestive but also matching with desserts, starters and main courses. But also look at its history, visit the cellars and enjoy our incredible vineyards!
Like everything that is complex, Madeira Wine deserves some attention starting by the comprehension of all the categories and styles that at first are not easy to grasp. Briefly here is an explanation about this unique famous wine.
Madeira Wine has four different degrees of sweetness, ranging from sweet and medium sweet to dry and medium dry. Each degree of sweetness can be associated to a specific grape. The sweet wines are produced with Malvasia grape, medium sweet from Bual , the medium dry from Verdelho grape and the dry ones are produced from Sercial. These are the so called noble varieties that nowadays continue to be produced on the island. But currently Tinta Negra a red grape is the basis of most of the production of Madeira Wine. Given its versatility produces the four degrees of sweetness. But there's more ... the Madeira Wine can meet various categories. Let's start with wines with an indication of age. You will find ages ranging from 5,10,15,20, 30 and 40, the older the wines the rarer they are. What does the age means? These wines have the characteristics of a Madeira that aged those indicated years and are made with grapes from different vintages and may be blended to obtain the desired characteristics. Are so-called blends. Then there are the premium wines that are the Colheitas and the Frasqueiras. All these wines are produced from grapes of a single harvest, made from noble grape varieties. Colheitas must age in casks for five years and when it comes to the Frasqueiras the aging period is, incredible, twenty years. Twenty years!
Complex, with extraordinary aromas of oxidation and aging, Madeira wines are known and recognized for its energy and freshness due to a surprising acidity originated in our soils.
Spices, dried fruits, honey… merges in what is defined as the bouquet of Madeira wine: rich, intense, fresh, energizing!
Be sure to know the wine that fascinated all over the world, writers, artists and politicians.... the wine used to toast to the Independence of the United States of America in 1776! Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Winston Churchill are a few examples of long and fascinating history of a wine that took advantage of the long voyages to the Indies to improve...
Wine Tour Review
“dmustra@”
“Thanks again for a wonderful day full of wine and food set to the backdrop of your beautiful island!”
David Mustra, United States
Discovering Madeira
