Madeira

Madeira was discovered in 1419, after which its lands were cleared and cultivated with wheat, vines and sugarcane, and the island was already exporting wine 25 years after colonisation began. Its discoverer was the Portuguese captain João Gonçalves Zarco. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries significant quantities went to the Indies and the Americas, and from the start of the nineteenth century the vast majority was exported to Europe and Japan. Madeira reportedly accounted for over 75% of all wine imported into the United States in the 18th century, and fortification with brandy was introduced in the mid-18th century. Legend has it that casks returned improved from a round trip to India, which gave birth to the vinho da roda (round trip wines); the estufagem and canteiro methods replicate this ageing in the island's wine lodges. Madeira suffered a disastrous oidium plague in 1852.

• Cossart Gordon & Co. was established in 1745 and says it represents the oldest company in the Madeira trade; William Cossart joined in 1808
• John Blandy arrived in Madeira in 1808 and in 1811 founded his own business as a wine shipper and general trader with his brothers Thomas and George
• The independence of the United States in 1776 was commemorated with a toast made with Madeira Wine
• The Madeira Wine Association was founded in 1913; the Blandy and Leacock families joined in 1925, followed a few years later by the Miles and Cossart Gordon families

Madeira is an archipelago of two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and the uninhabited Desertas and Selvagens, 1100 km from the coast of Portugal and 600 km from the African coast. Madeira has a total surface area of 740 km2, its highest point being Pico Ruivo at 1861 metres. The soil is of volcanic origin, mainly basalt, and together with the proximity to the sea and a climate of hot, humid summers and mild winters it gives the wine its particular characteristics. A mountain range runs the length of the island, creating seven distinct microclimates, with the north side cooler and more humid and the south side warm and sunny. The steep slopes are terraced into poios, and the most traditional training system is the latada, with the vines laid out horizontally; espalier vines, introduced in the twentieth century, may only be used on gentler slopes. The harvest runs from mid-August to October and is done totally by hand.

• The Wine-Growing Region covers approximately 403 hectares
• The island's soils are acidic, rich in minerals, iron and phosphorus, yet low in potassium; Blandy's says these factors contribute to the wine's signature acidity
• Vineyards are found from sea level up to 800 meters; Blandy's says grapes grown at lower altitudes can develop saline and iodine notes
• The climate is mild sub-tropical, with warm summers and temperate winters, and on occasion snow on the peaks

The grape varieties most used in Madeira Wine are Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvasia and Tinta Negra; other varieties are recommended and authorised. The four white grapes broadly span the styles from dry (Sercial) to medium-dry (Verdelho), medium-sweet (Bual) and sweet (Malvasia). Tinta Negra, introduced to Madeira in the eighteenth century, produces dry, off-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines and accounts for 80 to 85% of total production; only since 2015 can its name appear in its own right on the label. Terrantez, considered a rare variety, produces half sweet and half dry Madeira wines, and Bastardo and Malvasia Cândida wines also appear in the Madeira Wine sales statistics.

• Sercial: also known as Esgana Cão, due to its notable astringency and high acidity; grown at up to 600 metres on the south coast and 200 metres in the north; produces dry wines
• Verdelho: grown at approximately 400 metres; slightly more full bodied and less acidic than Sercial; produces off-dry wines
• Boal (Bual): grown at 100 to 300 metres; semi-sweet, medium bodied and rich
• Malvasia: Malvasia-Cândida, originally from Crete, was the first variety planted on Madeira, and it and Malvasia-de-São-Jorge produce sweet-style wines; Malvasia is also called Malmsey

Fermentation, partial or total, is stopped by adding vinous alcohol at 96% vol in accordance with the degree of sweetness wanted, giving dry, medium dry, medium rich and rich wines. Blandy's says rich-style wines are fortified after approximately 24 hours, while the drier style wines ferment for 7 days before fortification. Today, all wines have between 17.5% and 21% alcohol strength. In estufagem, the wine is placed in stainless steel vats heated by a serpentine carrying hot water at 45 to 50 degrees Celsius for never less than three months, then rests for at least 90 days. In canteiro, named after the wooden support beams (canteiros) the casks sit on, the wine ages in casks, usually in the top floors of the wine cellars where the temperature is higher, for a period of two years. Blandy's uses the canteiro method, in American oak casks in the warm attics of its lodge, for wines of superior quality. Madeira Wine is produced and marketed by the following economic agents: CAF, Madeira Vintners; H. M. Borges; Henriques & Henriques; J. Faria & Filhos; Justino's; Madeira Wine Company; Pereira d'Oliveira; and Vinhos Barbeito.

• Madeira Wine Company grew from the Madeira Wine Association of 1913; the Symington family, Port producers, formed a partnership with the Blandy family in 1989, and its brands are Blandy's, Cossart Gordon, Leacock's and Miles
• Henriques & Henriques dates back to 1850 and built new facilities in 1992; it says it owns the largest continuous vineyard on the island
• Pereira D'Oliveira is an independent, family-owned company that sells 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year old wines as well as harvests and frasqueiras
• Justino's has been established on Madeira since 1870; in 1993 it formed an association with a French wine and spirit distribution group and built a new winery

IVBAM is the certifying entity of Madeira Wine: it carries out the physical and administrative controls, controls stocks in the producing companies, attributes the lead seals necessary for its commercialisation and approves the labels and packaging used. The regulations include Regional Legislative Decree no. 1-A/2015/M of 9 January, the Vine and Wine Statute of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and Implementing Orders no. 38/2015 and no. 39/2015 of 13 February, on labelling and on production and commercialisation. The degree of richness runs in five steps: Extra Seco (extra dry), Seco (dry), Meio Seco (medium dry), Meio Doce (medium rich) and Doce (rich). Age indications are 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 years old and +50 years old. Colheita designates a wine at least 85% from the specified vintage, aged for a minimum of five years, while Frasqueira must be aged for a minimum of 20 years in wooden casks.

• Indicative total sugars in g/L: Extra Dry up to 49; Dry 49 to 65; Medium Dry 57 to 80; Medium Sweet 80 to 96; Sweet from 96
• Estufagem: hot water at 45 to 50 degrees Celsius for never less than three months, at least 90 days' rest, and no bottling or sale before 31 October of the second year following the harvest
• Canteiro: casks in the warmer top floors of the lodges for a period of two years, with sale only once three years have elapsed from 1 January after the harvest; Colheita must be aged for a minimum of 5 years, and Frasqueira for a minimum of 20 years in wooden casks
• A Colheita must be at least 85% from the specified vintage and at least 85% from a single grape variety, and Colheita and Frasqueira labels must indicate vintage and bottling date

Cossart Gordon's canteiro system comprises the gentle heating of the wine in the lofts of the lodges in Funchal. John Blandy bought up small property holdings over the course of nearly 20 years to form what is known today as The Blandy's Wine Lodge; Blandy's says these lodges are some of the oldest on the island. Pereira D'Oliveira receives tasting and sales visitors at Rua dos Ferreiros 107 in Funchal, in a listed building built in 1619 that was formerly the Liceu do Funchal. Henriques & Henriques is based in Câmara de Lobos and Justino's in Caniço. As serving suggestions, dry and medium dry Madeiras go well with aperitifs, medium dry also with soups, medium sweet with cheeses, and sweet Madeiras with sweets, chocolates and coffee.

• Blandy's says it is the only family among the founders of the Madeira wine trade to own and manage its original wine company
• Blandy's suggests serving dry and medium dry styles chilled (12°C) and medium rich and rich styles slightly chilled (16°C)
• Irrigation water is captured from the island's highest areas and carried through canals called levadas, a system totalling 2150 km
• Each one of Cossart Gordon's lodge rooms has its own character, and due to the differing temperatures and humidity the wines have differing ageing profiles based on their location

Primary sources (IVBAM, Wines of Portugal, and producers' own sites for their own facts): https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/historia, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/ilha, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/regiao, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/sercial, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/verdelho, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/boal, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/malvasia-candida-e-malvasia-de-sao-jorge, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/terrantez, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas/tinta-negra, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/tipos-categorias, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/vinificacao-e-envelhecimento, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/estatisticas, https://vinhomadeira.com/ivbam/conheca-o-ivbam, https://vinhomadeira.com/ivbam/controlo-e-certificacao, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/agentes-economicos/madeira-wine-company-sa, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/agentes-economicos/henriques-henriques, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/agentes-economicos/pereira-doliveira-vinhos-lda, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/agentes-economicos/justinos-madeira-wines-sa, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/agentes-economicos, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/consumir, https://vinhomadeira.com/ivbam/regulamentacao, https://vinhomadeira.com/o-vinho-madeira/castas, https://www.winesofportugal.com/en/portuguese-wines/wine-styles/vinho-da-madeira/, https://blandys.com/en/about-madeira-wine/, https://blandys.com/en/about-us/, https://blandys.com/en/wines-portfolio/?e-filter-1c29d53-product_cat=blends-en, https://www.cossartgordon.com/our-wines/15-year-old.html, https://www.cossartgordon.com/, https://henriquesehenriques.pt/produto/sercial-10-anos/. Secondary source: https://www.decanter.com/premium/understanding-the-different-madeira-styles-413857-413857/. Last verified 2026-10-05