Thirsty Thursday - Madeira & Cocktails

The home of the Madeira wine is a small, rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean with the same name. Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, located about 440 miles west of the Moroccan coast. Its subtropical climate with high temperatures, extreme humidity, and much rain provides excellent conditions for the grapes grown all over the island. Madeira wine has been produced since the 15th century and became internationally popular in the 1600s. The island of Madeira became an important supply station for ships that traveled from Europe to the Americas or the East Indies. And the colonies of the European empires in these regions had a high demand for wine. During their journeys, the sailors made an interesting discovery: The Caribbean heat cooked the wine in the barrels. But instead of ruining the wine, it improved its flavor significantly. This effect, called “sea-aging”, gave Madeira wine its nickname “Vinho da Roda” (English: wine of the round trip).

During the fermentation of the grapes, vintners add brandy to fortify the must. As this fortification stops the fermentation process, it determines the style of the wine: The earlier the vintner adds the brandy, the more sugar remains in the must. And the more sugar remains in the must, the sweeter the resulting wine will be. The most remarkable part of producing Madeira wine is the aging process. The reason is that vintners do something that usually is a no-go in winemaking: They deliberately expose the wine to oxygen and heat and cause it to cook. This process that would usually ruin a table wine is essential to make great Madeira wine. It increases its sweetness, acidity, and alcohol content. Additionally, it also preserves the wine. This method is called “Maderization”, and replicates what happened to wines during their journeys from Europe to the colonies in the new world.