Madeira wine

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Not to be confused with Madera AVA.
Madeira wine
Madeira wine

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands, Portugal, which is made in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif, to sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert. Cheaper versions are often used in cooking. Due to the unique maturation process the wines undergo, they are especially long-lived.

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[edit] Vinification

The method of vinification is similar to that employed in other parts of Portugal, but the method employed for hastening the maturation of the wine is peculiar and characteristic.

This consists of subjecting the wine to a high temperature for a period of some months in buildings called estufas specially designed for this purpose. This process is meant to duplicate the effect of a long sea voyage of the aging barrels through tropical climates. Madeira was originally unfortified, but the addition of grape brandy increased its ability to survive long voyages.

The temperature varies from 35° to 60°C (100° to 140°F), according to the quality of the wine, the lower temperature being used for the better wines. The estufas are built of stone and are divided into compartments heated by means of hot air obtained from a system of stoves and flues.

Much of the characteristic flavor of Madeira is due to this practice, which hastens the mellowing of the wine and also tends to check secondary fermentation inasmuch as it is, in effect, a mild kind of pasteurization. Furthermore, the wine is deliberately exposed to air, causing it to oxidize. The resulting wine has a color similar to a tawny port. Colourings such as caramel have been used in the past as a colouring to give some consistency (see also whiskey), although this practice is decreasing. Wine tasters sometimes describe an oxidized wine as being maderized.

[edit] Characteristics

Exposure to extreme temperature and oxygen accounts for its stability; an opened bottle of Madeira will survive unharmed for a considerable time, up to a year. Properly sealed in bottles, Madeira is one of the longest lasting wines; Madeiras have been known to survive over 150 years in excellent condition. It is not uncommon to see Madeiras pushing the century mark for sale at stores that specialize in rare wine.

Before the advent of artificial refrigeration, Madeira wine was particularly prized in areas where it was impractical to construct wine cellars (such as those in parts of the southern United States) because unlike many other fine wines it could survive being stored over hot summers without significant damage.

[edit] Types

There are four major types of Madeira, named according to the grape variety used. Ranging from the sweetest to the driest style they are: Malvasia (also known as Malmsey or Malvazia), Bual (or Boal), Verdelho, and Sercial. Occasionally one sees Terrantez, Bastardo and Moscatel varieties, although these are now increasingly rare on the island due to oidium and phylloxera. After the phylloxera epidemic, many wines were "mislabeled" as containing one of these noble grape varieties, which were reinterpreted as "wine styles" rather than true varietal names. Since the epidemic, Tinta Negra Mole is the workhorse variety on the island and is found in various concentrations in many blends and vintage wines. Of these, Bastardo and Tinta Negra Mole are red grape varieties, the rest are all white.

Regulations enacted recently by the European Union have applied the rule that 85% of the grapes in the wine must be of the variety on the label. Thus, wines from before the late 19th century and after the late 20th century conform to this rule. Other "varietally-labelled" madeiras, from most of the 20th Century, do not. Modern madeiras which do not carry a varietal label are generally made from Tinta Negra Mole.

Many vineyards have in the past been ripped up for commercial tourist developments or replanted with such products as bananas for commercial concerns. There is some replanting taking place on the island; however, the tourist trade is generally seen as a more lucrative business than wine-making.

Madeira may be sold as a vintage wine with a specific year when aged in casks for more than 20 years, or a blended wine with a minimum age, such as 3, 5, 10 or 15 years. Also there are solera wines, having been started in a specific year.

The new types of wine include "Harvest" and "Garrafeira" both wines from a specific year, but with a much shorter aging period than the vintage wines.

A style called "Rainwater" is shipped only to the United States. Once upon a time a shipment of Madeira casks to Savannah, Georgia was left out in the rain, which affected the taste. The buyer first complained, but later found he liked it.[1] The style was therefore recreated indoors for later shipments. Rainwater Madeira as produced today is mild and similar in style to Verdelho, but can be expected to be made from Tinta Negra Mole, and is primarily used as an aperitif.[2]

[edit] Early American history

Madeira was an important wine in the history of the United States of America. No wine quality grapes could be grown among the thirteen colonies so imports were needed with a great focus on Madeira (usually imported by the “pipe” - a cask between 110-120 gallons). One of the major events on the road to revolution in which Madeira played a key role was the British seizure of John Hancock’s sloop the Liberty on May 9, 1768. Hancock's boat was seized after he had unloaded a cargo of 25 pipes (3,150 gallons) of Madeira and a dispute over import duties arose. The seizure of the Liberty caused riots to erupt among the people of Boston.[3][4]

Madeira was also a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, and it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin are also said to have appreciated the qualities of Madeira. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the great quantities of Madeira he consumed while a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. Chief Justice John Marshall was also known to appreciate Madeira, as were his cohorts on the U.S. Supreme Court at the time.

A bottle of Madeira was also used by visiting Captain James Server to christen the USS Constitution in 1797.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Madeirawine.com: Rainwater, read on January 6, 2007
  2. ^ Madeira Wine Guide: Types Of Wine, read on January 6, 2007
  3. ^ John Hancock. Encarta Encyclopedia. Retrieved on Feb. 23, 2007
  4. ^ John Hancock.

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