This experience was an 8-day trip to see as many wineries on the island of Madeira as we could. It was really challenging to come up with an itinerary, but with a little help from ChatGPT (which got several things wrong!), we were able to develop a trip to see as many as we could, taking the weekend and a national holiday into consideration (wineries are closed on those days)
After a 12 hour flight (plus layover in New Jersey), we unpacked at a B&B rented for the week in the center of town.
The thing to know about Madeira wines is they started back in 1400’s, with some modernization of the techniques, but the wines are heated, fermentation stopped when the desired sugar content is reached, and vinous alcohol (96%!) is added to fortify the wine and stop fermentation. The product is then aged in barrels of various types (mostly American or French oak) until it is bottled. Any further aging stops at the time of bottling.
The bottles must be kept upright since the wines have a much higher acidity which destroys the cork (corks must be replaced every 20 years). So, when buying a wine, the date on the label is the year of harvest, but the date of bottling is the date that oxidation and further aging stops—and is actually the critical date. While there are 3, 5, 10 and 15-year old wines, it is the 20-year or more wines that are prized, especially those that have been in the barrel for decades (we tried a wine harvested in 1920, and bottled in 2025, so a 105 year old wine!).
There are several major varietals on the island, but the Tinta Negra (85%) creates most of the common-consumption wine, with Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malvasia (in increasing order of sweetness) creating the ballast of the rest of the created wines, usually those with a vintage, single cask and specific varietal stated on the label. Wines are grown on steep slopes, with the vast majority grown on the “latada” or pergola method (way above the ground, so you walk under them to pick the grapes).
We visited several lodges and wineries, including D’Oliveira, which is one of the oldest and most traditional (dating to the 1800’s) with the best vintage stock, while H. M. Borges has a completely different atmosphere, but still interesting tastings. The Quinta do Barbusano is the actual winery where the grapes are grown, but this is uncommon, as there are more than 1,200 individual growers which source their grapes to the various wine lodges who then make the wine. Quinta das Vinhas is a smaller boutique shop, but with an interesting history also.
Vinhos Barbeito and Henriques and Henriques were additional wineries were we enjoyed our tastings, while Blandy’s is one of the oldest from the early 1800’s, with a great museum about their development. The highlight of the journey was our tasting at Justino’s. The manager and directing partner personally conducted a comprehensive tour and tasting of more than 18 wines during a 3 hour visit with Juan Teixeira. It was such an amazing treat to learn about the process from the largest producer and exporter on the island (more than 1 million liters per year sold, with more than 4 million liters in various stages of development). He was so gracious and kind, considerate and an educator bar none! It was a genuine highlight to have our second to last tasting be with such an expert.
We enjoyed a rum tasting too, from J. Faria and Filhos at their North Rum Distillery, where we had a masterclass in rum tasting. They are one of the few producers of raw sugar cane only rum (nothing added ever).
A few videos for you….
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