The world's most long-lived wine comes from an island, Madeira, about 400 miles off the coast of Morocco. The island is the top of a volcano that rises six kilometers from the floor of the Atlantic. The small archipelago of which Madeira is a part was discovered by Portuguese sailors, settled by Portuguese in the early 15th century, and remains an autonomous region of Portugal today.   More

The world's most long-lived wine comes from an island, Madeira, about 400 miles off the coast of Morocco. The island is the top of a volcano that rises six kilometers from the floor of the Atlantic. The small archipelago of which Madeira is a part was discovered by Portuguese sailors, settled by Portuguese in the early 15th century, and remains an autonomous region of Portugal today.

Madeira wines were originally matured in casks stowed on British sailing vessels working tropical routes, particularly those originating or ending in India. This "cooking" of the wine on these ocean voyages, rather than ruining it, seems to have made it finer, as did the eventual fortification with brandy.

Madeira is named by grape variety, hence Malmsey (Malvasia), Bual, Sercial, and Verdelho. Owing to the depredations of everything from powdery mildew to phylloxera, thousands of acres of old vineyards were destroyed and replanted with an inferior variety, Tinta Negra Mole. The result is the grape variety names listed above have evolved to denote the style rather than being a true indicator of the actual grape type. Due to E.U. regulations, Madeira made today must contain at least 85% of the named variety; thus, wines from before the late 19th century and after the late 20th century conform to this rule. Other Madeiras do not.

Sercial is the lightest of the Madeiras, often with pronounced acidity. Verdelho is just a bit softer and still relatively dry. Bual is richer in texture and a tad sweeter. Malmsey is the richest, and usually the sweetest, though none of these is anywhere close to being as sweet as, say, Port. In all these styles, you'll find to some degree, an almost citric, vaguely tangerine-like quality in the finish, even when there's some residual sugar.   Less