🍷 Madeira
Also known as: Madeira wine
Fortified wine from the island of Madeira that matures in warmth and hardly ever spoils.
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.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Madeira → kind of → 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines → related → 🍷 Wine
How it connects to Spirits
🍷 Madeira ← → ← 🌴 Rum and sugarcane spirits → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- What is packed
- 🥃 English Whisky, 🥃 Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 🥃 Norwegian aquavit (Norsk Akevitt), 🥃 Irish Whiskey, 🥃 Bushmills 21 Year Old, 🥃 Tullamore Dew 14 Year Old Single Malt, 🥃 Penderyn, 🥃 Penderyn Madeira Finish, 🥃 Torabhaig
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Portuguese
- Part of
- 🍷 Fortified wine, 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines, 🍷 Liqueur wine
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Related to
- 🌴 Rum and sugarcane spirits, 🥃 Rum, 🥃 Sugar cane and molasses
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Fortified wine, 🍷 Sercial, 🍷 Malmsey, 🏷️ Estufagem, 🍷 Terrantez, 🍷 Rainwater Madeira, 🍷 Frasqueira Madeira, 🏷️ Oxidative ageing, 🏷️ Canteiro
- In other topics
- 🥃 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, 🥃 Irish Single Malt Whiskey
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Madeira is always served after dinner?
Not quite. The dry types are served chilled as an aperitif; the sweet ones go with dessert, cheese and nuts.
What styles of Madeira are there?
Sercial is the driest, Verdelho a little sweeter, Bual sweet and Malmsey the sweetest, plus rare grapes such as Terrantez.
What does Madeira taste of?
Notes of nuts, caramel and dried fruit, with bright acidity.
What to read next
- 🧑🤝🧑 Portuguese — The people of Portugal; fado, the choral singing of Alentejo, wine, olive oil and cheeses from the mountains and the Azores.
- 🥃 Rum — A distillate of sugar-cane molasses, syrup or juice: in the EU at least 37.5% ABV, no flavourings or added alcohol, up to 20 g/l of sugar; in the US bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) or more.
- 🥃 Sugar cane and molasses — Raw materials of rum, cachaça and other cane spirits: cane juice or molasses; rum made from them is at least 37.5% ABV in the EU.
- 🌴 Rum and sugarcane spirits — Rum is a spirit distilled from molasses, cane syrup or sugarcane juice, at least 37.5% ABV in the EU, never flavoured. Rhum agricole means cane juice; cachaça is a separate Brazilian designation.
- 🥃 Irish Whiskey — Irish Whiskey is a geographical indication of the island of Ireland since 1989: whiskey distilled and matured for at least 3 years in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) or more.
Similar
🍷 Port · 🍷 Mutage · 🍷 Marsala · 🍷 Carcavelos · 🍷 Vin doux naturel · 🍷 Commandaria
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.