Here’s what you need to know about Madeira.

The island of Madeira is located in the Atlantic Ocean. Even approaching the runway, which is supported by huge concrete pillars, often wobbly is an adventure in itself due to the strong winds. Madeira Airport was named after football player Cristiano Ronaldo (37) in 2017, as he was born on the island.

A world-famous tradition of the remote Atlantic island of Madeira is the production of the sweet wine of the same name. Wine was first documented in 1478 when the Englishman George Plantaganet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478) was executed. At his own request, he drowned in a wine barrel full of Malmsey. Malmsey means Madeira wine made from the Malvasia grape variety.

behind Madeira

Six grape varieties are mainly used for Madeira on a vineyard area of ​​approximately 450 hectares: dark Tinta Negra and white Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvasia and Torrontez. All grape varieties also represent the individual style of Madeira wines. Compared to other wines, Sercial is the driest with an above-average acidity, while Malvasia or Malmsey is always sweet and shows distinctive aromas of raisins, caramels and dried figs.

The fermentation of wines is usually stopped before the yeast converts all the sugars into alcohol, so Madeira wines are usually sweet. Then 96 percent, flavorless alcohol is added to the unfinished Madeira, which means the finished wine contains between 17 and 18 percent alcohol.

Depending on the style desired, Madeira has two possible curing processes, both of which work with heat. Estufagem is the name of the process by which Madeira is heated to 45 to 50 degrees Celsius for at least three months, so wines often have aromas of cooked fruit. Canteiro is the second process in which wines are aged in old wooden barrels for several years at a temperature of 25-40 degrees, with more alcohol and complexity compared to Estufagem.

As with port wines, Madeira has different ages. For example, Colheita is aged in barrels for at least five years and is made from grapes from a single vineyard, while Frasqueira is aged in barrels for at least 20 years. Madeira labels usually indicate the grape variety used, the degree of sweetness, storage time, and whether the grapes are from a single or multiple crops.

While every Madeira bottle is given a bottling date, the color of inexpensive Madeira wines is often helped by adding caramel. It is ideal for various types of cheese and desserts, such as mainly sweet Madeira wines, Portuguese honey and hazelnut dessert Bolo de Mel.