A winemaker and good friend of mine once expressed her frustration about the lack of understanding her profession: “some people seem to think a wine is growing in bottles in the vineyard”. Fortunate, we bloggers and readers, know better. Every wine is based on the two fundamentals: viticulture and vinification. Let us have a closer look on how Madeira is produced.
Madeira is an extreme wine region, entirely on an extinguished volcano, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. 900 km south of Portugal, and 600 km from Marrakesh in Morocco. This location gives it the most even vine climate in the world, with very little temperature fluctuations.
Viticulture is Madeira’s Number 1 agricultural practice. Yet, the total amount of vines is 408 hectares. That is very small, comparing to 95.000 hectares in Bordeaux. After all, it is a beautiful, tiny island.
Madeira’s small vineyards are mostly situated on steep slopes, forcing the vine growers to do all the work manually. The slopes have been converted to ‘poios’ or ‘socalcos’; handmade terraces that are kept upright by stone walls. This prevents the erosion of the precious topsoil. However, these terraces need to be maintained. Altogether, Madeira wine demands a lot of labour.
Most vines are pruned according to the latada system. Latada is Portuguese for ‘trellis.’ Vines grow on a chaotic-looking web of slats and iron wires, sometimes no more than 1,50 meters high. In earlier times this was a necessity, as there were many poor people who only owned small plots of land, and other vegetable cultivation was much required, too.
Thera are 20 recommended (mostly white) grape varieties on Madeira. The most intriguing one is Sercial, with its incredible high acidity. Its’ nick name is Esgana Cão, meaning dog strangler. You might have walked through a vineyard with fully ripened grapes, picking and tasting some. When on Madeira, you will never forget your first (and last) Sercial grape. It is certainly not a table grape! Still, Sercial has a huge fan base. Malvasia is known all around the Mediterranean, as the grape for producing rich, attractive, sweet wines. One of the secrets of Madeira wine is the perfect balance between sweet and sour.
The production method of Madeira wine is unique. It benefits from winemaking methods that would destroy any other wine. Due to its history, Madeira is maturing under very warm conditions. Casks filled with wine can even take a sunbath behind south-facing windows. In any other wine region, a wine maker who presents this idea, would immediately be sent home for a long holiday, with lots of rest. The warmth causes a kaleidoscope of pleasant aromas in Madeira wine. From orange peel, figs and dates, to chocolate, biscuits and almonds.
One more thing: when buying a Madeira wine, take a close look at the label. Choose a style: the sweetness, age, and producer. The best Madeira’s are called garrafeira, frasqueira, or colheita: all wines from one vintage year. Serve it with a great dish.
To your health: à sua saúde!
Jeroen Bronkhorst
author of ‘Madeira Wine Today’
buy the book on: www.madeirawinetoday.com