Madeira

Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, which lies out in the Atlantic Ocean west of Morocco. The island's name means "island of wood", because it was covered in dense forest when it was discovered in the early 1400s. The vineyards sit on steep terraces in volcanic soil, and cultivation is very labour-intensive because the terrain is rocky and almost vertical. What makes Madeira special is that the wine is deliberately heated during a process called estufagem. This mimics the way the wine was once affected when barrels travelled through the tropics on long sea voyages. The heating gives Madeira its characteristic notes of dried fruit, nuts and caramel, along with a fresh, almost burnt acidity.

For you as a drinker, the style matters a great deal. Madeira ranges from dry to very sweet, often named after the classic grapes: Sercial is the lightest and driest and is grown in the coolest sites, while Malmsey is the fullest and sweetest and comes from the warmest, lowest areas. Verdelho and Bual lie in between. If you want to know how old a bottle is, you can look for age categories like Reserve and Special Reserve, or for vintage Madeira, which has to age a long time in barrel.

A widespread misconception is that Madeira goes bad quickly after opening. Thanks to the heating and the fortification, it is very durable, and an opened bottle can keep for a long time.