Madeira Press Kit - Associação de Promoção da Madeira

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History History MADEIRA MADEIRA WINE WINE Wine production on the island is of utmost importance, for it is the wine that made Madeira known all over the world. Prince Henry the Navigator probably introduced the first vines to Madeira during initial colonisation of the island. Jesuit priests managed the first wine trading and they owned large properties and vineyards. The monastic order attained great economic power and had a huge influence over the islanders, both social and spiritual. The greatest impetus to the wine industry was initiated by the English in the latter half of the 18th century. Export was developed and many foreign countries bought Madeira wine. Today there are many different varieties of Madeira wine. The dry wines such as Sercial and Verdelho are delicious as chilled aperitifs. The sweeter wines are served with dessert and the richest wine, the Malmsey, is an excellent after-dinner drink. Madeira wine is so diverse that it is served at any time of the day with practically any type of food. In order to keep the quality of this precious wine during the long sea voyages, it was fortified with the addition of brandy. Experimentation showed that by heating the casks of wine (a process called estufagem), the wine was not only preserved but also acquires a unique burnt flavour, which enhanced the taste considerably. One intriguing snippet from the history books tells of the Duke of Clarence, who after imprisonment in the tower of London under sentence of death, chose to be drowned in a barrel of Madeira wine.
The he Beginning Beginning Vines of Candia in in Crete set the stage for the development of Madeira wines. The vines planted there would eventually be the first of four main varieties that would find its descendants flourish and evolve on the yet undiscovered and uninhabited island of Madeira. During the 13th century Venice had been dominating the commerce of the Mediterranean, including the wine trade. Noticeably, England England and other Northern European countries of the time participated vigorously in trade for this much sought after commodity. The market was very strong for the sweet taste of this excellent variety of wine. Unfortunately, there are not many records showing the outward expansion of the seed of the Candia to other regions of post middle-ages Europe, except to say that as the merchants of Venice and Genoa spread their operations across Europe they took with them their resources and assets that would develop their interests further. The The Portuguese Portuguese Initiative Initiative Initiative In the 15th century Prince Henry Henry the Navigator of Portugal was quick to see the advantages of developing Madeira as an island vineyard. He sent the Malvasia vine to the recently discovered island and ordered the production of wines to commence. Soon enough England no longer had to deal with a monopoly by Venice. New wines started showing promise on Madeira and it became advantageous for the English to switch their trade to the Island where they could get wines of the same level of quality. During this time "Malmsey" "Malmsey" "Malmsey" "Malmsey" became the English word for Malvasia Malvasia. Malvasia Boal vines from Burgundy, were called Bual Bual and the vines imported from the Rhineland, Riesling, were called Sercial Sercial. Sercial However, the origin of Verdelho vines is not precisely known. All these wines would later be called by their generic name "Madeira”. What What did did the the Venetians think of the competition competition? competition The Venetian Cadamosto Cadamosto, Cadamosto not likely to have been happy about the success of the Madeira adventure, tried to remain objective in his writings about the economic developments of the island during the middle of the 15th century.
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Madeira Press Kit - Associação de Promoção da Madeira

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