Mild climate, Madeira embroidery and Madeira wine – these are the three superstars of the small Portuguese island that are so popular with holidaymakers. Madeira wine is a protected designation for the fine drop that comes from the grapes grown in Madeira. This official designation serves, like Port wine, Parmesan or Champagne, to prevent counterfeiting.
Like Port wine, the fermentation of Madeira is also stopped prematurely by adding alcohol. Originally, sugarcane spirit was the medium of choice, nowadays producers often turn to brandy.
Madeira is a fortified wine with an alcohol content of 17 - 22%, which is made entirely from white grapes. This Portuguese temptation has a beautiful story: from its discovery to the production process.
How is Madeira made?
The addition of sugarcane spirit originated from the desire to protect the wine. Since Madeira was particularly enjoyed by the English, the wine had to be brought by ship from Portugal to England and from there to America and other parts of Great Britain.
To stabilize the drink, the sailors added alcohol. Since the wine was not protected from the sun on the ship, it heated up and turned golden brown. And to their surprise, upon arrival, they found that the wine tasted even better after the long voyage.
Heat is the key to its character
Thus, the procedure became established and the wine was deliberately sent around the world on ships to help give it its magnificent taste. Eventually, however, it was realized that the key to success lay not in shipping, but in storage and heating.
So, Madeira wine began to be stored in barrels in the attics of wineries, to expose it there to the necessary warming by the sun.
This technique is known as the Canteiro method. Today, it is only used for the finest Madeira wines. The others settle for the much more economical method, the so-called Estufagem, in which Madeira is heated in oven rooms, where heat from 40 to 75 °C is artificially generated.
What exactly happens with this method? By adding the spirit, the sugar contained in the wine does not turn into alcohol, but settles. How sweet a Madeira tastes is determined by the timing of the fermentation stop by the alcohol. If a lot of sugar has already fermented, the wine is less sweet than those with shorter fermentation times.
During heating, the sugar is additionally caramelized, which gives Madeira its unique color and additionally creates its typical taste. The wine is also supposed to mature faster this way. So it is stored in the barrel for a period of three to five months at temperatures of 40 to 75 °C.
This procedure ensures that Madeira remains very long-lasting. An opened bottle can remain for a very long time without going bad. So it can happen that the Madeira opened by so many grandparents in their lifetime is still quite enjoyable today!
The unmistakable barrel note
The greatest effect on the incomparable taste of Madeira wine is barrel aging. A Madeira must always be stored in a barrel. The rule is: the longer the wine stays in the barrel, the better the taste. The barrels differ greatly and range from walled concrete vats, to glass balloons, to wooden barrels and steel tanks.
Through the very long barrel aging, the wine oxidizes through contact with oxygen, which results in the volume of the wine being reduced. This reduction makes the Madeira complex and very intense in taste.
Madeira wine has a lot of tannin, but also a high acid content. In the nose, the volatile acidity makes itself noticeable, in the mouth the notes range from sweet chocolate to bitter dryness.
What distinguishes Madeira wine from Port wine?
Both Port and Madeira were introduced to the world by English merchants. To get through the long and cold winters on the island, the authorities liked to drink the wines with bite to warm themselves up.
Both wines are among the fortified wines – the designation for the addition of alcohol during the fermentation process. However, Port wine is made from red grapes and is usually fortified by adding brandy.
Unlike Madeira wine, Port is not warmed, but stored cool.
The most important grape varieties of Madeira wine
Madeira wines are aged for at least three years, the high-quality ones must withstand five years of aging and the exclusive ones start at 10 years and can eventually even celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Basically, there are four different varieties of Madeira wine:
- dry / dry
- medium-dry / medium-dry
- medium sweet / medium sweet / medium rich
- sweet / sweet / rich
The approved grape varieties from which Madeira wine is made are exclusively white and are limited to: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malvasia and Tinta Negra Mole.
Sercial – The Dry
Dry and tart wines are made from this grape. Sercial is grown in the higher elevations of the island of Madeira and develops very fine almond aromas.
The wine has such a high acid content in its youth that it is not enjoyable and rather needs a long maturation period of 20 years to develop its taste. Sercial wines are among the highest quality Madeira wines and are usually served slightly chilled as an aperitif.
Verdelho – The Medium-Dry
Verdelho is a temperamental grape, as it is very difficult to cultivate. But the wines made from it have structure and a beautiful golden color.
This vine is the main variety of the popular “Rainwater Madeira”. The typical taste of the wine is said to have originated from a load of barrels getting soaked on the beach and thus diluted.
Verdelhos are medium-dry and a light pleasure for the palate. Their aromas remind of dried fruit and honey, but also have notes of chocolate and coffee. Ideal with olives and roasted almonds.
Boal – The Medium Sweet
This medium-sweet grape is very aromatic and balanced. Boals are fruity and full-bodied – a sweet-tart variant of Madeira with aromas of lemon, apricot, orange peel, caramel, dried fruit and coffee.
Young Boals are wonderful companions for soft cheese, while the older ones are wonderful with hard cheese. Cigar lovers also claim this Madeira wine for themselves.
Malvasia – The Sweet
This very sweet and rich wine is the best-known Madeira wine. The Malvasia vines (also known as Malmsey) are grown in the lower regions of Madeira and produce a dessert wine with a dark color.
The aromas are diverse and full-bodied and remind of jam, vanilla and caramel candies. Malvasia pairs wonderfully with tropical fruit, but also with dried fruit as well as walnuts and hazelnuts.
Madeira wine is also a harmonious companion for sweets. So this can be drunk with desserts like fruit tarts and cakes, but also with butter cookies, chocolate and Petit-Fours.
Cheese lovers are not left out either, because Malvasia combines perfectly with the Portuguese cheese varieties Serra and Serpa. And also the intense blue cheeses like Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola and Danish Blue can keep up with it.
Tinta Negra Mole – The All-Rounder
Tinta Negra Mole is an interesting grape variety that can serve all taste variants, although it is not a fine grape. Whether dry, medium-dry, medium-sweet or sweet – it can do just about everything. That is why more than half of all Madeira wines are made from it.
Why? The grape is grown at different altitudes and therefore contains sometimes more, sometimes less sugar.
Thirsty for more knowledge about Portuguese wines? Then take a look at our article about the different wine categories from Portugal. With this information you will impress every connoisseur.
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