Portuguese wines, Madeira

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Wine Vinho da Madeira Meio Seco 3YO

PLN 78.99

Red Semi-dry Portugal

PLN 71.09

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Red Semi-dry Portugal

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Wino Vinho da Madeira Meio Doce 3YO - Czerwone, Półsłodkie

Wine Vinho da Madeira Meio Doce 3YO

PLN 73.99

Red Semi-sweet Portugal

PLN 66.60

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Red Semi-sweet Portugal

Wine Vinho da Madeira Doce 3YO

PLN 78.99

Red Sweet Portugal

PLN 71.09

Love Wine

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Red Sweet Portugal

Wine Vinho da Madeira Meio Doce 5YO

PLN 119.00

Red Sweet Portugal

PLN 107.10

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Red Sweet Portugal

Portugal - wine industry

Portugal is one of the oldest wine countries in Europe and eleventh in the world in terms of wine produced. Portugal's Douro region is the oldest designated wine region in the world. For years, Portugal was known mainly for its fortified wines, but now, as in other wine regions of the world, it is also famous for producing unfortified wines.

Portugal produces about 7 million hectoliters of wine annually. This number, of course, is highly variable due to the huge influence of the Atlantic climate. About 60% of the wine production is red (rose) and fortified wines, while 40% is white wine. Portugal is faithful to local varieties, making most of the great wines perfectly reflect the character of the local terroir. From the cool north and granite soils comes the mineral and refreshing Vinho Verde. Warm shale in the interiors yields grapes for Porto and the unfortified red wines of the Douro region. The southern plains yield heavily fruity wines, while the volcanic island of Madeira, located in the Atlantic, is a completely different terroir. It grows grapes that yield some of the world's most enduring wines.

Portuguese fortified wines - Madeira

The idea for Madeira wine was born by accident, out of what is known as life's necessity. The famous Portuguese Porto was also created for the same reason. In the 17th and 17th centuries, when the wine trade was dominated by the English and wine was transported mainly by ship over long distances, it became a regular practice to add brandy to it as a preservative. Wine distillate was added already during vinification, which allowed fermentation to stop, and the natural sugar from the grapes remained in the wines. Many months of travel, oxidation and rocking changed the taste of the product, but eventually it turned out to be quite tasty. The wine became very complex, taking on entirely new aromas eventually creating exciting flavor combinations as well. In the 19th century, after the phylloxera plague, the varieties of grapes grown here changed and long journeys through the grades were abandoned in favor of heating Madeira on the island. Over the years, a plethora of fine styles of Madeira have been created to reflect the character of the island, and fortified Madeira is still making a big splash on European tables today.

Madeira wine growing

For most winemakers, high temperatures and strong winds are the enemy of viticulture. In Madeira, however, it is a great asset, aiding in the production of some of the most intriguing and mysterious Madeira wines in the world. In addition, the island's volcanic soils produce high yields of grapes, despite the rather small plantation area.

Madeirawines are considered the most durable in the world (vintagesfrom even the Napoleonic era are still in circulation). Due to the early harvest time (second week of August) and maturation at relatively high temperatures (40-50 degrees) accelerating fermentation, the process is called "Madeiraization" or "estufag" (from estufa - greenhouse, meaning a special room in which it takes place).

Madeira wine - styles

Madeirais a white wine, but the color of the wine is often misleading, as the maturation process changes it to a dark mahogany. Four varietals are mainly grown here, which produce different styles of Madeira wine:

Sercial - the Sercial variety is used to create the most dry refreshing Madeira. They are the lightest, fresh, in a strongly dry style, with high acidity and a slight saltiness in the background.
Verdelho - light, aromatic, dry and semi-dry, with hints of smoked fruit
Bual - bual wines are heavy, semi-sweet with a nutty aftertaste with great aging potential. They have slightly smoky aromas, fairly high acidity with bitterness in the background. Raisin and delicate sweetness.
Malvasia - dark, the noblest, sweetest style

Other Madeira - older varieties that are rare today:

Bastardo
Terrantez - semi-dry

Madeira wine - grape variety

Varietal wines that are made from white noble (nobre) varieties are considered the most highly regarded. Traditional grape varieties are attributed a corresponding degree of sweetness. The most dry refreshing Madeira are made from the Sercial variety - these varietalsare grown high in the mountains, which makes them ripen slowly late. Semi-dryones are made from Verdelho varieties, semi-sweet ones from Bual, and the sweetest Malmsey from Malvasia. However, most Madeira wines, especially the 3 and 5 year olds (dry and sweet) are made from Tinta Negra Mole. This is a red grape varietal imported relatively recently to the island, which, depending on the altitude at which it is planted, yields grapes of varying degrees of sweetness; all four types of wine are made from it.

Before being fortified with wine distillate, the grapes undergo partial or complete fermentation. The wine is then lightly heated, using the Estufa method. The best Madeira is aged for 20 years in barrels at high ambient temperatures, thereby gaining an ethereal aroma and flavor. Initially Madeira wine is stored in warm attics of warehouses, after some time it is moved to cooler places - this is the Canteiro method.

Madeira wines - quality levels and maturation process

Finest - 3-year-old, matured by the Estufa method, tinta negra strain
Reserve - 5 years old, usually a coupage with tinta negra
Special Reserve (Old Reserve) - 10 years old, Canteiro method, single-strain
Extra Reserve - 15-year old, Canteiro method
Vintage (so-called vintage madeira) - at least 20 years of natural maturation (Canterio) and 2 years in bottle and only from noble varietals
Colheita - from a single vintage, matured for a minimum of 5 years in barrel using the Canteiro method
Frasqueira - from one vintage, aged for more than 20 years using the Canteiro method

Madeira wine - price

Age designations appear on Madeira labels: 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 years. It is worth mentioning here that in blends the age designation on the label, is the age of the youngest wine used in the blend.In vintage wines on the bottle you will find the year of harvest .As for the age, of course, the older the wine, the better, but at the same time more expensive.The price of a three-year-old Madeira is about 60-70 zlotys. The best compromise between price and quality is a 5-year-old Madeira wine, which is around 100 zlotys, depending on the producer. The price of a 10-year-old Madeira is around 200 zlotys. The difference in price is ultimately not very large. Of course, it is worth reaching for even older vintages if you want to give someone a luxury gift. Here the price ranges of such an exceptional bottle are even 400-500 zlotys and more. Remember, however, that Madeira is an extremely long-lived wine that can be stored in the cellar for many years. This makes gift wines in such an edition become valuable connoisseur wines.

Madeira wines - what to serve it with

Madeirawine is not subject to the typical pairing, as in the case of white and red wine. Dry and semi-dry Madeira is usually drunk as an aperitif, sweet - as a digestif, to dessert as a dessert wine or even as a dessert in itself. With its delicate hint of roasted nuts, Madeira wine tastes great with nutty-flavored cheeses such as Gruyere, Petite Basque, Zamarano. Madeira tastes equally well with blue cheese, mountain cheese, hard-skinned cheeses because of the smoky, even smoky notes often found in the wine.

These basic Madeira's will also be great for cooking. Better quality bottles are the perfect companion for unhurried tasting, matching many types of dishes. The more sophisticated styles of Madeira (Sercial and Verdelho) - serve gently chilled, while Bual and Malmsey rather at room temperature. Importantly, after opening the bottle, Madeira wine can stand for a longer time without losing quality.