Wine Course 7 Fortified Wines (Madeira)

Wine Course 7 Fortified Wines (Madeira)
Introduction
Just to reiterate from the previous course, liqueur or fortified wines are produced by two main techniques:
a) Fortifying the light wine before the grape must is fully fermented to leave a sweet style of wine. An example of this type of fortified wine is Port.
b) Fortifying the light wine after fermentation is complete. An example of this type of fortified wine is Sherry.
The wines are fortified with grape spirit and are fortified to between 15.5% to 20% alcohol by volume depending on the style.
Another of the most famous fortified wines is Madeira. Lower quality Madeiras are fermented dry and then fortified and sweetened to taste. The higher quality Madeirias are produced by the Port method and are fortified before all the sugars in the wine are fermented to leave sweeter wines which do not require subsequent sweetening.
Madeira
Madeira is named after the Portuguese island of Madeira which is located in the North Atlantic about 300 kilometres to the west of the coast of Morocco. It has a sub-tropical Mediterranean climate which has plenty of summer sunshine but the temperatures are moderated by the Atlantic Ocean. The vineyards are irrigated by Levadas which channel water from the highlands to lower levels.
The island is volcanic so the soils are very fertile. The soil is fertilised further by the ashes of the local forests which were cleared by burning by the Portuguese colonists in the 15th century. The vineyards are located in terraces on steep mountain slopes which are difficult to maintain by mechanisation therefore viticulture is expensive.
There is conjecture that Madeira, like Port, started life as an unfortified wine. The wine deteriorated on its way to export markets in the East Indies during the 17th century; so the act of fortification was used to help to stabilise the wines.. The journey across the tropics heated the wine in the casks to temperatures around 45 degrees Celcius. Some of the Madeira exported to the East Indies returned home by accident. The intense heating and cooling of the wine in the casks or pipes seemed to improve the flavour of the wine. After this discovery the wine makers decided to deliberately heat the wine to mature it before export. This heating process or Estufagem, was established in the wine lodges of Funchal , the capital city of Madeira. By the beginning of the 20th century the process of maturing wines on ships passing through the tropics had almost completely died out.
Cheaper wines are heated, to around 60 degrees Celcius, in Estufas which are either heated rooms or tanks. The more expensive wines are heated by the sun, for several or more years, on racks or Canteiros under the roof eaves of the wine lodges. Whatever the process the heating process oxidises the wine to high levels of acidity. This cooking and oxidation process gives Madeira its characteristic taste and renders the wines almost indestructible. Madeiras therefore are some of the longest lived wines. Madeira wines take on the colour of a Tawny Port. It should be noted that light wines which have been exposed to oxygen or heating often acquire a maderised taste and brown colour which are identifiable wine faults.
Wine which has undergone maturation on a journey in a ship through the tropics is termed as Vihno da Roda and wine which is matured on the island is termed Vinho de Canteiro. It should also be noted that Emilio Lustau produces an Old East India Sherry which is matured on ships Vihno Da Roda style – it is well worth tasting.
Madeira is made from a number of different grapes. The most commonly grown is the Tinta Negra Mole variety which is used for lower quality Madeira. Other rarer grape varieties include Terrantez (white grapes) and Bastardo ( black grapes).
There are four “noble” grape varieties which are used to produce varietal labelled wines:
Sercial used to produce wines which are the least sweet and some can even have a dry character . It is also the most pale Madeiria.
Verdhelo is more sweet and less pale in colour.
Bual is much sweeter again in character and darker in colour
Malvasia is used to make Malmsey which is the most sweet and luscious Madeira and is the darkest in colour.
All Madeira that is made from the noble gapes has the hallmark burnt and oxidised taste combined with a complexity of spice, fruit and other aromas such as coffee and caramel.
Madeira is also classified by the age that it is kept in the cask after the Estafugem process thus:
“Finest” - Madeira which has aged for at least for 3 years. This is usually of inferior quality and produced from of Tinta Negra Mole grapes which are sometimes blended with Moscatel and other varieties of grape. This wine is more commonly used for cooking rather than drinking and is often used in the preparation of “Sauce Madere”.
Reserve wine - this wine is aged in the cask for at least five years and is usually reserved for the noble grape varieties.
Special Reserve - this Madeira is aged for at least ten years and likewise it is usually confined to the noble varieties.
Extra reserve is richer in style than Special reserve and the wine must be aged for at least 15 years.
Vintage Madeira must be from a single year and be aged in the cask for at least twenty years and it must also be made from a noble variety.
Some Madeira is matured in Soleras and the bottle should be marked with the date when the Solera was first started.
Colheita style Madeira is fast becoming more fashionable and is usually a blend of noble grapes from a single vintage but aged for a shorter period than Vintage Madeira..


Questions
What is the name for Madeira which has made a trip through the tropics and back to Funchal?
What is the Portuguese name for the eaves of the wine lodges?
How long should reserve Madeira be aged in the cask for?
What is the Portuguese name for the irrigation channels used to feed water to the vineyards?
Why is Madeira almost indestructible?
What grape variety is used for the cheaper wines?
What are the names of the noble grapes used to make Madeira?
What is the name given to Madeira which is matured and aged on the island without making a trip through the tropics?
What helps to fertilise the soil in the vineyard?
Why is the production of Madeira grapes not amenable to mechanisation?
What type of climate does the island of Madeira have?