Madeira wine
Encyclopedia
Portuguese wine
Portuguese wine is the result of traditions introduced to the region by ancient civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and mostly the Romans. Portugal started to export its wines to Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed with trade to England after the...
made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
PDO
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
regulations. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif
Aperitif
Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...
, to sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
. Cheaper versions are often flavoured with salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
for use in cooking. The islands of Madeira have a long winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
history dating back to the Age of Exploration when Madeira was a standard port of call
Port of Call
-Synopsis:Berit, a young woman living in a working-class port town begins a relationship with Gösta, a sailor newly returned from overseas and intent upon staying on land...
for ships heading to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
or East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added. On the long sea voyages, the wines would be exposed to excessive heat and movement which transformed the flavour of the wine as the wine producers of Madeira found out when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine up to temperatures as high as 60 °C (140 °F) for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Because of this unique process, Madeira is a very robust wine that can be quite long lived even after being opened. Most countries limit the use of the term Madeira or Madère to only those wines that come from the Madeira Islands. In Europe, this principle is enshrined in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
by Protected Designation of Origin
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
(PDO) status.
History
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
became a regular customer, picking up large (112 gal
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
/423 l
Litér
- External links :*...
) casks of wine known as pipes for their voyages to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The intense heat and constant movement of the ships had a transforming effect on the wine, as discovered by Madeira producers when one shipment was returned to the island after a long trip. It was found that the customer preferred the taste of this style of wine and Madeira labeled as vinho da roda (wines that have made a round trip) became very popular. Madeira producers found that aging the wine on long sea voyages was very costly and began to develop methods on the island to produce the same aged and heated style. They began storing the wines on trestles at the winery or in special rooms known as estufas where the heat of island sun would age the wine.
The 18th century was the "golden age
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
" for Madeira with the wine's popularity extending from the American colonies and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in the New World to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Northern Africa. The American colonies, in particular, were enthusiastic customers consuming as much as a quarter of all wine produced on the island each year. The mid 19th century ushered an end to the industry's prosperity, first with the 1851 discovery of powdery mildew
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of fungi in the order Erysiphales. It is one of the easier diseases to spot, as its symptoms are quite distinctive. Infected plants display white powdery spots on the...
that severely reduced production over the next three years. Just as the industry was recovering through the use of the sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
-based Bordeaux mixture
Bordeaux mixture
Bordeaux mixture is a mixture of copper sulfate and slaked lime used as a fungicide in vineyards. It is used mainly to control garden, vineyard, nursery and farm infestations of fungi, primarily downy mildew which can result from infections of Plasmopara viticola. It was invented in the Bordeaux...
, the phylloxera epidemic that had plagued France and other European wine regions reached the island. By the end of the 19th century, most of the island's vineyards had been uprooted and many were converted to sugar cane production. The majority of the vineyards that did replant chose to use American vine varieties like Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
, Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees...
and Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris
Vitis rupestris is a kind of grape native to the Southern and Western United States that is known by many common names including July, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hybrids as well as many root stocks. ...
or hybrid grape varieties rather than replant with the Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
varieties that were previously grown. By the turn of the 20th century, sales started to slowly return to normal until the industry was rocked again by the Russian Revolution and American Prohibition which closed off two of Madeira's biggest markets.
The rest of the 20th century saw a downturn for Madeira, both in sales and reputation, as low quality "cooking wine" became primarily associated with the island — much as it had for Marsala. But towards the end of the century, some producers started a renewed focus on quality — ripping out the hybrid and American vines and replanting with the "noble grape" varieties of Sercial
Sercial
Sercial is the name of a white grape grown in Portugal, especially on the island of Madeira. It has given name to the dryest of the four classic varieties of Madeira fortified wine....
, Verdelho
Verdelho
Verdelho is a white wine grape grown throughout Portugal, though most associated with the island of Madeira, and also gives its name to one of the four main types of Madeira wine...
, Bual
Bual
Boal is a name given to several varieties of grape cultivated in Portugal, notably in the production of medium-rich fortified wines from Madeira Island. On many wine labels of Madeira wine, the variety's name is anglicized as Bual. Madeira from Bual is typically less sweet than that from Malmsey,...
and Malvasia
Malvasia
Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
. The "workhorse" varieties of Tinta Negra Mole
Tinta Negra Mole
Tinta Negra Mole is a red Portuguese wine grape commonly used in the production of Madeira. It is the most widely planted variety on the island of Madeira and is considered the industry's "workhorse grape"....
and Complexa
Complexa
Complexa is red Portuguese wine grape used in the production of Madeira. The grape was created as a crossing of Castelao, Muscat Hamburg and Tintinha in the 1960s. The grape provides a deep color with less tannins than the commonly used Tinta Negra Mole....
are still present and in high use but hybrid grapes were officially banned from wine production in 1979. Today, Madeira's primary markets are in the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
countries, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with emerging markets growing in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early American history
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
’s sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
the Liberty
HMS Liberty (1768)
HMS Liberty was a British ship that was burned in 1769 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island as one of the first acts of open defiance against the British crown.-History:The ship was originally owned by John Hancock...
on May 9, 1768. Hancock's boat was seized after he had unloaded a cargo of 25 pipes (3,150 gallons) of Madeira and a dispute over import duties arose. The seizure of the Liberty caused riots to erupt among the people of Boston.
Madeira was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
and John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
are also said to have appreciated the qualities of Madeira. On one occasion, Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the great quantities of Madeira he consumed while a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. Chief Justice John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
was also known to appreciate Madeira, as well as his cohorts on the U.S. Supreme Court. A bottle of Madeira was also used by visiting Captain James Server to christen USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
in 1797.
Viticulture
The island of Madeira has an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
with some tropical influences
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
. With high rainfall and average mean temperature of 66 °F (19 °C), the threats of fungal grape diseases and botrytis
Botrytis
Botrytis may refer to:*Botrytis, the anamorphs of fungi of the genus Botryotinia**Botrytis cinerea, a mold important in wine making*Botrytis, the cauliflower cultivar group of Brassica oleracea...
rot are constant viticultural hazards. To combat these threats, Madeira vineyards are often planted low trellises known as latada that raise the canopy of the vine off the ground similar to a style used in the Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde is a Portuguese wine from the Minho region in the far north of the country. The name literally means "Green Wine" , referring to its youthful freshness that leads to a very slight green color on the edges of the wine. The region is characterized by its many small growers, which...
region of Portugal. The terrain of the mountainous volcanic island is difficult to cultivate with vineyards planted on man-made terraces
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
of red and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
. These terraces, known as poios are very similar to the terraces of the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
that make Port wine production possible. The use of mechanical harvesting
Harvest (wine)
The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...
and vineyard equipment is near impossible making wine grape growing a costly endeavor on the island. Many vineyards have in the past been ripped up for commercial tourist developments or replanted with such products as bananas for commercial concerns. There is some replanting taking place on the island; however, the tourist trade is generally seen as a more lucrative business than wine-making.
Grape varieties
There are four major types of Madeira, named according to the grape variety used. Ranging from the sweetest to the driest style they are: MalvasiaMalvasia
Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
(also known as Malmsey or Malvazia), Bual
Bual
Boal is a name given to several varieties of grape cultivated in Portugal, notably in the production of medium-rich fortified wines from Madeira Island. On many wine labels of Madeira wine, the variety's name is anglicized as Bual. Madeira from Bual is typically less sweet than that from Malmsey,...
(or Boal), Verdelho
Verdelho
Verdelho is a white wine grape grown throughout Portugal, though most associated with the island of Madeira, and also gives its name to one of the four main types of Madeira wine...
, and Sercial
Sercial
Sercial is the name of a white grape grown in Portugal, especially on the island of Madeira. It has given name to the dryest of the four classic varieties of Madeira fortified wine....
. Occasionally one sees Terrantez, Bastardo
Bastardo grape
Bastardo is an old variety of red wine grape. It is grown in small amounts in many parts of Western Europe; most famously it is used in Portuguese port wine...
and Moscatel varieties, although these are now increasingly rare on the island because of oidium
Uncinula necator
Uncinula necator is a fungus that causes powdery mildew of grape. It is a common pathogen of Vitis species, including the wine grape, Vitis vinifera. The fungus is believed to have originated in North America. European varieties of Vitis vinifera are more or less susceptible to this fungus...
and phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. After the phylloxera epidemic, many wines were "mislabeled" as containing one of these noble grape varieties, which were reinterpreted as "wine styles" rather than true varietal names. Since the epidemic, Tinta Negra Mole
Tinta Negra Mole
Tinta Negra Mole is a red Portuguese wine grape commonly used in the production of Madeira. It is the most widely planted variety on the island of Madeira and is considered the industry's "workhorse grape"....
and Complexa
Complexa
Complexa is red Portuguese wine grape used in the production of Madeira. The grape was created as a crossing of Castelao, Muscat Hamburg and Tintinha in the 1960s. The grape provides a deep color with less tannins than the commonly used Tinta Negra Mole....
is the workhorse variety on the island and is found in various concentrations in many blends and vintage wines. Of these, Bastardo and Tinta Negra Mole are red grape varieties, the rest are all white.
Regulations enacted recently by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
have applied the rule that 85% of the grapes in the wine must be of the variety on the label. Thus, wines from before the late 19th century (pre-phylloxera) and after the late 20th century conform to this rule. Other "varietally-labelled" madeiras, from most of the 20th Century, do not. Modern madeiras which do not carry a varietal label are generally made from Tinta Negra Mole.
Other varieties planted on the island, though not legally permitted for Madeira production, include Arnsburger
Arnsburger
Arnsburger is a white variety of grape used for wine. It was created 1939 by Heinrich Birk at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute by crossing two clones of Riesling, clone 88 and clone 64. Arnsburger did not receive varietal protection until 1984...
, Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
and the American hybrids Cunningham and Jacquet.
Winemaking
The initial winemakingWinemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
steps of Madeira start out like most other wines with the grapes being harvested, crushed, pressed and then fermented
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...
in either stainless steel or oak casks. The grape varieties destined for sweeter wines, Boal and Malvasia, are often fermented on their skins to leach
Maceration (wine)
Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...
more phenols from the grapes to balance the sweetness of the wine. The more dry wines made from Sercial, Verdelho and Tinta Negra Mole are separated from their skins prior to fermentation. Depending on the level of sweetness desired, fermentation of the wine is halted at some point by the addition of neutral grape spirits. Producers of cheaper Madeira will usually ferment the wine completely dry, regardless of grape variety, and then fortify the wine so as not to lose any alcohol to evaporation
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
during the estufagem aging (see below). The wines are then artificially sweetened and coloured.
- Sercial is nearly fermented completely dry with very little residual sugar (0.5 to 1.5° on the Baumé scaleBaumé scaleThe Baumé scale is a pair of hydrometer scales developed by French pharmacist Antoine Baumé in 1768 to measure density of various liquids. The unit of the Baumé scale has been notated variously as degrees Baumé, B°, Bé° and simply Baumé . One scale measures the density of liquids heavier than water...
). This style of wine is characterized with high-toned colours, almond flavours and high acidity. - Verdelho has it fermentation halted a little earlier than Sercial when its sugars are between 1.5 to 2.5° Baumé. This style of wine is characterized by smokey notes and high acidity.
- Bual/Boal has its fermentation halted when its sugars are between 2.5 to 3.5° Baumé. This style of wine is characterized by its dark colour, medium rich texture with raisinRaisinRaisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
flavours. - Malvasia/Malmsey has its fermentation halted when its sugars are between 3.5 to 6.5° Baumé. This style of wine is characterized by its dark colour, rich texture with coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
-caramel flavours. Like other Madeiras made from the noble grape varieties, the Malvasia grape used in Malmsey production has naturally high levels of acidity in the wine which balances with the high sugar levels so that the wines do not taste cloying sweet.
Estufagem
- Cuba de Calor: The most common, used for low cost Madeira, is bulk aging in low stainless steel or concrete tanks surrounded by either heat coils or piping that allows hot water to circulate around the container. The wine is heated to temperatures as high as 130 °F (55 °C) for a minimum of 90 days as regulated by the Madeira Wine Institute.
- Armazém de Calor: Only used by the Madeira Wine Institute, involves storing the wine in large wooden cask in a specially designed room outfitted with steam producing tanks or pipes that heat the room, creating a type of saunaSaunaA sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
. This process more gently exposes the wine to heat and can last from six months to over a year. - Canteiro: Used for the highest quality Madeiras aged without the use of any artificial heat, being stored by the winery in warm rooms left to age by the heat of the sun. In cases like vintageVintageVintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
Madeira, this heating process can last for from 20 years to 100 years.
Much of the characteristic flavour of Madeira is due to this practice, which hastens the mellowing of the wine and also tends to check secondary fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...
in as much as it is, in effect, a mild kind of pasteurization
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...
. Furthermore, the wine is deliberately exposed to air, causing it to oxidize. The resulting wine has a colour similar to a tawny port
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
. Colourings such as caramel coloring have been used in the past as a colouring to give some consistency (see also whiskey), although this practice is decreasing. Wine tasters sometimes describe an oxidized wine as being maderized.
Styles
Since 1993, Madeira that is produced from Tinta Negra Mole are legally restricted to use generic terms on the label to indicate the level of sweetness as seco (dry), meio seco (medium dry), meio doce (medium sweet) and doce (sweet). The terms pale, dark, full and rich can also be included to describe the wine's colour. A wine labeled as Finest, means that it has been aged for at least 3 years. This style is usually reserved for cooking. Wines made from at least 85% of the noble varieties of Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey are usually labeled based on the amount of time that they were aged. Wines with Solera listed were made in a style similar to sherrySherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
with fractional blending of wines from different vintages in a solera
Solera
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other...
system.
- Reserve (5 years) - This is the minimum amount of aging that a wine labeled with one of the noble varieties is permitted to have.
- Special Reserve(10 years) - At this point the wines are often aged naturally without any artificial heat source.
- Extra Reserve (over 15 years) - This style is rare to produce with many producers extending the aging to 20 years for a vintage or producing a "colheita". It is richer in style than a Special Reserve Madeira.
- Colheita or Harvest - This style includes wines from a single vintage but aged for a shorter period than true Vintage Madeira. The wine can be labeled with a vintage date but include the word "colheita" on it.
- Vintage or Frasquiera - This style must be aged at least 20 years.
Rainwater
A style called "Rainwater" rarely produced today and, when it is, is usually shipped only to the United States. This style of wine is mild and similar to Verdelho, but can be expected to be made from Tinta Negra Mole, and is primarily used as an aperitif. There are conflicting accounts of how this style was developed. The most common is that the name derives from the vineyards on the steep hillsides, where irrigation was difficult, and the vines were dependent on the local rain water for survival. Another theory involves a shipment destined for the American colonies that was accidentally diluted by rain water while it sat on the docks in Savannah, Georgia. Rather than dump the wines, the merchants tried to pass it off as a "new style" of Madeira and were surprised at its popularity among the Americans.Characteristics
Exposure to extreme temperature and oxygenOxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
accounts for its stability; an opened bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
of Madeira will survive unharmed for a considerable time, up to a year. Properly sealed in bottles, Madeira is one of the longest lasting wines; Madeiras have been known to survive over 150 years in excellent condition. It is not uncommon to see Madeiras pushing the century mark for sale at stores that specialize in rare wine. Vintages dating back to 1780 are known to exist.
Before the advent of artificial refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
, Madeira wine was particularly prized in areas where it was impractical to construct wine cellar
Wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
s (such as those in parts of the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) because unlike many other fine wines it could survive being stored over hot summers without significant damage.
Lower quality Madeira wines may be flavored with salt and pepper to prevent their sale as Madeira wine. Instead they are exported—mainly to France—for cooking purposes. This wine is most commonly used in 'Sauce Madère', better known in English-speaking countries as Madeira Sauce.
See also
- List of Portuguese wine regions
- Terras Madeirenses VRTerras Madeirenses VRTerras Madeirenses is a Portuguese wine region situated on the islands of Madeira, both on the main island and on the Porto Santo Island. The region is classified as a Vinho Regional , which corresponds to table wines with a geographical indication under European Union wine regulations, similar to...
, a Vinho Regional designation for simpler, non-fortified wines from Madeira. - History of Portuguese wineHistory of Portuguese wineThe history of Portuguese wine has been influenced by Portugal's relative isolationism in the world's wine market, with the one notable exception of its relationship with the British. While wine has been made in Portugal since at least 2000 BC when the Tartessians planted vines in the Sado and...
- Port winePort winePort wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
- SherrySherrySherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....