🏷️ Estufagem
Also known as: Madeira estufagem, estufa
Heating Madeira in tanks to quickly give it the taste of an old wine.
Estufagem is the way Madeira is made in Portugal. The wine is heated in large vats to quickly gain the flavour of an old wine. Madeira is a fortified wine from the island of Madeira in the Atlantic.
Usually the wine is held at 45 to 50 degrees for at least three months. The heating resembles what happened on old ships, when barrels of wine were carried through the hot tropics and the wine took on a special flavour. Now the effect is made artificially, in heated tanks called estufas.
Estufagem is used for simpler wines. Fine Madeiras are aged naturally, in attics under roofs where the sun's warmth reaches, a method called canteiro. It takes years and even decades.
Heating gives Madeira its typical notes of caramel, nuts and dried fruit. That is why Madeira differs from other wines: it does not fear heat or oxidation, and an opened bottle keeps for a long time.
How it connects to Wine
🏷️ Estufagem → applies in → 🗺️ Portuguese wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Madeira
- Where it applies
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Madeira, 🏷️ Canteiro
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that heating Madeira is a modern shortcut with nothing to do with history?
Not quite. The heating resembles what happened on old ships, when barrels were carried through the hot tropics; today the effect is made in heated tanks.
Which Madeiras are aged by the canteiro method, and how long does it take?
Fine Madeiras, aged naturally in attics under roofs where the sun's warmth reaches. It takes years and even decades.
Which flavours does heat give to Madeira?
Typical notes of caramel, nuts and dried fruit.
Similar
🏷️ Canteiro · 🏷️ Vinho Regional · 🏷️ Oxidative ageing · 🏷️ Reserva (Portugal) · 🏷️ Garrafeira · 🏷️ DOC (Portugal)
⚠️ 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.