🍷 Madeira

Madeira is a fortified wine from the island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal. The special thing about this wine is that it matures in warmth and hardly spoils. Grape spirit is added, so it usually has 17–22% alcohol. An open bottle keeps for months.

The history of Madeira is linked with sea voyages: barrels were carried in ships' holds through warm seas, and the wine only benefited. Today the warmth is created on purpose, by heating the wine in special tanks or leaving barrels under the roof. The taste has notes of nuts, caramel and dried fruit, with bright acidity. Styles differ in sweetness and grape: Sercial is the driest, Verdelho a little sweeter, Bual sweet, Malmsey the sweetest. There are also rare grapes such as Terrantez.

Madeira belongs to fortified wines and to Portuguese wine. It is similar to sherry but matures differently. The dry types are served chilled as an aperitif, the sweet with dessert, cheese and nuts. Madeira is also used in cooking, for example in sauces.