📍 Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese island in the Atlantic and the wine of the same name. It is part of Portugal. The island is volcanic, steep and green, with vineyards on narrow terraces called poios. Irrigation channels called levadas carry water.

Madeira is a fortified wine: grape spirit is added to the fermenting juice. Its special feature is that the wine is deliberately heated or aged in warm rooms, which makes it resistant to oxidation. Madeira can keep for decades, and an opened bottle lasts weeks without spoiling.

The style depends on the grape. Sercial gives the driest and most acidic wines, Verdelho medium-dry, Boal medium-sweet, and Malvasia (Malmsey) the sweetest. The most planted grape on the island is Tinta Negra, used for simpler wines. These four “noble” grapes are often shown on the label.

Madeira is drunk as an aperitif and a dessert wine, and also used in cooking. Madeira takes its name from the island, but the wine used to be shipped on vessels, and heat and motion in the holds gave it its special character. Dry styles are served chilled as an aperitif, sweet ones after a meal.