Enter Portugal

During the 18th century Madeira was one of the most highly-regarded producers of fortified wine. The islands proximity made it an ideal port of call for travellers to the New World and the East Indies. One reason for this is that Madeira wine actually improved in taste during the long journeys to the Americas and India. Following the example of Port producers on mainland Portugal, Madeira wine lodges began adding brandy to the wine which had the effect of stabilising the wine and increasing the alcohol content.

Henriques & Henriques

The Henriques family have been the largest landowners in Câmara de Lobos since the 15th century and own the single largest vineyard on the island. Free tours through their winery are available without requiring advanced notice.
www.henriquesehenriques.pt

Through experimentation the wine lodges developed ways of accelerating the maturation process by allowing the barrels of wine to be heated by direct sunlight, and later developing methods of heating the wine with stoves.

However, during the mid-19th century Madeira was hit by vine plagues, first by oidium, a plant pathogen that destroys grapes, and then by the phylloxera aphid that had already devoured 40% of Frances vineyards. By grafting European vines onto aphid-resistant American vines, Madeira wine producers were able to bounce back, but by this time many islanders had abandoned their vineyards.

Madeiras wine producers have experienced many setbacks, but through sophisticated methods of viticulture the quality of the wine has been getting better and better. Vintage Madeira still retains the unique flavour and longevity that made them so popular in the 18th century, whilst the banning of hybrid grapes in 1979 has meant that recent generations have a clean freshness that has made them increasingly popular in Europe, America and Japan.