🍷 Verdelho Madeira
A medium-dry Madeira made from Verdelho.
Verdelho is a medium-dry Madeira named after the Verdelho grape. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name in the Atlantic. By sweetness it falls into four classic styles named after grapes: Sercial is dry, Verdelho medium dry, Bual medium sweet and Malmsey sweet.
To carry a grape name on the label, the wine must be at least 85% that variety. Fermentation of Verdelho is stopped with grape spirit a little later than for the sweet styles, so it has about 49–78 grams of sugar per litre. The wine is then aged in warmth, in casks in lofts or in heated tanks. Heat and air make Madeira extremely stable, so it hardly spoils even after opening.
Verdelho tastes of smoke and nuts, dried fruit and citrus acidity, with moderate sweetness. It is served with soups, pâté and cheese or as an aperitif. In sweetness Verdelho sits between Sercial and Bual, and it is a Portuguese wine. Madeira has about 17–22% alcohol and is best enjoyed in moderation.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Verdelho Madeira → made in → 🗺️ Portuguese wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Madeira
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Sercial, 🍷 Bual
Frequently asked questions
What does Verdelho Madeira taste like?
Medium dry, with nutty and smoky notes and fresh acidity. It has about 49–78 g/l of sugar.
How is Verdelho different from Sercial and Bual?
Sercial is drier, Bual sweeter, and Verdelho sits in between. All three are named after grapes.
How long does opened Madeira keep?
For months or longer, since the wine has already been through heat and oxidation. It is one of the most stable wines.
Similar
🍷 Malmsey · 🍷 Terrantez · 🍷 Rainwater Madeira · 🍷 Sercial · 🍷 Frasqueira Madeira · 🍷 Bual
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.