It’s delicious to eat, the Listrão, but now I am about to taste my first young vinified version of it. And what adds extra excitement, is the fact that next to the Listrão there’s a Caracol. Porto Santo re-enters the Madeira wine scene!
It’s mid-January. I have just arrived to the facilities of Madeira [...]
Don’t you just love it, when you still can sense the primary fruit and the typicity of a grape variety – and yet get some age and balance on top of that? Welcome to the world of colheitas!
The more Madeira I taste, the more I believe that the colheitas has a very important [...]
Saturday morning. Rain-laden clouds covers the sky only to be occasionally interrupted by the sun. The moody weather is of course a part of the season in Madeira, although the temperature stays steadily around 16-18 C in the Funchal area. On the agenda is a visit to three vine growers in Estreito de Camara [...]
From Senhor Gonçalves Tinta Negra vineyard on the opposite side of the valley, the view is simply breathtaking. São Vicente was in the past a hidden village, to protect it and its church from sea pirates. Today it’s one of the must visits on the island with its dramatic nature and the surrounding vineyards. [...]
Generous chunks of polvo – squid that is – marinated in vinegar together with raw vegetables and parsley. Not pickled, more the gentle acidity of a nice vinegar. For aesthetic reasons, serve it in a hollowed out cabbage head. What would you pour?
At the restaurant Chalet Vicente on Estrada Monumental 238 [...]
Yes, it’s a Tinta Negra. And yes, it’s absolutely brilliant!
The 1996 Single Cask 409 C is one of those wines that everyone with prejudiced Tinta Negra thoughts should taste. Well, the rest of us should have it as well. The longer time in cask has been good to the wine which shows an [...]
”There is also a small black Burgundy grape called Negra Mole which produces a wine called Tinta, formerly a type of Madeira but now chiefly used for blending.”
About Tinta Negra there is little nice to be said, seemed to be the policy already in 1961, when Rupert Croft-Cooke’s Madeira* was published. Although the work [...]
”They’re too expensive.”
”Madeira lacks optimal conditions for table wine production.”
”Nobody wants to buy them.”
”We need the Verdelho for the fortified wines.”
Those are some of the comments I’ve heard when discussing the island’s table wines with the Madeirense. I can understand their reasoning. These wines don’t stand a chance [...]
When reading about Madeira in the wine literature, you’ll most likely notice the use of the name Tinta Negra Mole. If the grape, which stands for up to 85% of the vineyard cultivations on the island, is the same as the one carrying the identical name and found on the mainland of Portugal, we [...]
2012 is considered a very fine vintage for most grape varieties in Madeira. In general 2013 was a more difficult year and yet I’ve heard more than one producer indicate that last year resulted in superior grapes. A more extensive report will follow.
After having tasted more than 25 samples from 2013 I can [...]
By now I’ve probably lost the count. That is, how many times I’ve visited Madeira. There’s only one thing I’m sure about – I need to go more often.
Going to Madeira in January is like buying a lottery ticket; if sunshine and warm weather is a priority of yours. Checking out the wine [...]
Vinic alcohol. That is, neutral spirit with no characteristics besides the 95.6 percent alcohol by volume content. Used in Madeira to arrest the fermentation. The alcohol is purified by repeated distillation and vinic alcohol simply means that it derives from grapes.
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