MADEIRA 

Madeira is a mountainous island 700 km off the coast of Morocco, possessed by Portugal since its discovery and settlement in the early 15th century. 

Wines that are labeled with a sweetness description rather than a variety are produced from a common red grape, Tinta Negra, and they are generally heated in estufas and aged for a shorter period in cask—a minimum of three years is required by law. Varietal wines, on the other hand, are always subjected to the island’s natural warmth and aged for many more years in old casks. Like Port, they are often blends of vintages with an indication of general age—10 Year Old, 15 Year Old—but some vintage wines are produced. 

Colheita vintage wines spend at least five years in cask, while the famed Frasqueira vintage bottlings spend at least two decades in old oak barrels and casks, if not more. Frasqueira Madeira is one of the best opportunities for guests to try incredibly old wines—they can last for centuries!

Conveniently, the varieties’ names correspond with their expected level of sweetness. The four main varietal wines are Sercial (dry), Verdelho (medium dry), Boal/Bual (medium rich/medium sweet), and Malvasia/Malmsey (rich/sweet). 

Sercial and Verdelho, like other drier styles of Madeira, are best as aperitifs, savory pairings, or hot Savannah nights. Boal and Malvasia, Anglicized as “Malmsey,” are perfect with cheeses, desserts, and quiet mid-winter evenings alone in drafty old castles.

Madeira, like Port, is one of the great fortified wines of Portugal—but the two regions produce very different wines. 

Bananas, grapes, and passion fruits grow equally well in its rich volcanic soils and warm subtropical climate. The island was a point of embarkation for ships headed to the European colonies in the New World, and the character of Madeira wine has evolved along lengthy ocean voyages. Air and heat, those traditional enemies of wine, sculpted the character of the wine as it crossed the Atlantic in casks, bound for colonial markets. Modern Madeira producers approximate the effects of tropical heat and oxidation by subjecting Madeira wines to 113-122° F heat in an estufa tank for a short period of three months, or by allowing the wines to mature slowly in cask for many years in the island’s warm ambient temperatures. The island’s best wines are produced by the second method, a more costly endeavor. 

Madeira is actually produced across a range of sweetness levels, from nearly dry to very sweet. The timing of fortification—and the amount of unfermented residual sugar left in the must—determines the final sweetness level of the wine. Those labeled Medium Rich/Medium Sweet and Rich/Sweet are the most appropriate for dessert. Dry and Medium Dry wines are generally better at the beginning of a meal. Of course, all Madeira fortified wines contain some residual sugar, but their uniformly high acidity easily masks low levels of sweetness. This incredible acidity is a hallmark and defining characteristic of Madeira wines.