🍷 Bual
Also known as: Boal, Bual Madeira
A medium-sweet Madeira made from the Bual grape.
Bual is a medium-sweet Madeira. The name is used for this style of wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira, and for the grape it is made from. It has roughly 78 to 96 grams of sugar per litre, so the taste is clearly sweet, but not as thick as the sweetest wines.
Madeira is made in an unusual way. The wine is fortified with wine spirit, then heated and aged for a long time, sometimes for years. This makes it very stable. An opened bottle can keep for much longer than ordinary wine. Bual is amber or brown in colour, with notes of dried fruit, nuts and caramel.
How Bual differs from other Madeira. Other Madeira styles stand next to it in sweetness: Verdelho is medium-dry, Malmsey is the sweetest, and Bual sits between them. In Portugal the name is written Boal. It is a strong drink, so it is sipped in small amounts, usually after a meal or with dessert. As with any alcohol, it should be drunk in moderation.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Bual → 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
- 🍷 Verdelho Madeira, 🍷 Malmsey
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Bual is a very sweet, thick Madeira?
No. With roughly 78 to 96 g/l it is clearly sweet, but not as thick as the sweetest Madeira.
Where does Bual sit next to Verdelho and Malmsey?
Between them: Verdelho is medium-dry and Malmsey the sweetest.
Why is an opened bottle of Madeira so durable?
The wine is fortified, then heated and aged for a long time, which makes it very stable.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes, appellations.
- 🍷 Verdelho Madeira — A medium-dry Madeira made from Verdelho.
Similar
🍷 Sercial · 🍷 Terrantez · 🍷 Rainwater Madeira · 🍷 Frasqueira Madeira · 🍷 Verdelho Madeira · 🍷 Malmsey
⚠️ 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.