Madeira Wine Is Surprisingly Versatile — Here's How to Pair it With Your Favorite Dishes

One night, around ten years ago, I tasted a Madeira wine whose grapes were harvested before the Civil War. Lincoln was still president when the berries ripened on their vines, Napoleon III was still emperor of France, Wagner was still working on the Ring Cycle, and the Beatles wouldn’t be formed for nearly another century.

It was exceptionally old wine by any standard, and yet there was life to it: Acidity that sent electricity through notes of nuts and nougat. And fruit, too: Dried, to be sure, but it was there. The liquid seemed to be something of a miracle, still providing pleasure nearly 150 years after it was made.

That’s the genius of Madeira: It can age in ways that utterly boggle the mind. Yet there’s no need to wait, either, because plenty of Madeiras offer immense pleasure as soon as you drive home from the wine shop.

So what is this wine? What defines it, and what allows it, in some cases, to age so brilliantly?

Where is Madeira wine made?

Madeira is produced in the Portuguese archipelago of the same name. It’s found in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Portugal and northwest of Morocco. The famous volcanic soils, as well as the climate, are well-suited to growing a range of wine grapes, most notably Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malvasia; occasionally, Madeira is produced from grapes like Terrantez, Moscatel, and Bastardo. The Tinta Negra Mole grape variety is widely planted and used in Madeira production, but it’s not considered to be one of the “noble” ones, though some very nice Madeiras are produced from it.

How is Madeira wine made?

As for the way that Madeira is made, that’s a story that began centuries ago, when spirit was added to casks of wine that were intended to be shipped across the oceans between Europe, the so-called New World, and the East Indies. That fortification with more alcohol — in addition to the wine’s natural acidity — helped preserve it throughout its time on a ship. 

Unexpectedly, its exposure to heat over prolonged periods (as well as the constant rocking of the liquid caused by the waves and the movement of the journey, and its oxidation), completely changed the character of the wine. This process essentially cooked the wine until it had taken on a different aroma and flavor profile than it had before the voyage.

Over the generations, Madeira caught on. It was even a well-known favorite of many of America’s Founding Fathers, many of whom are reputed to have hoisted a toast of it to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Eventually, other more affordable methods of re-creating the conditions that produce Madeira were developed — ones that didn’t necessitate thousands of miles on the seas.

The most important of them is known as estufagem, which entails heating, through mechanical means, fortified Madeira wine in bulk. It’s more labor- and cost-effective than methods like canteiro, which is most important for naturally heating the wine. In this case, in barrels that benefit from placement in warehouses or rooms (and sometimes attics!) that are naturally heated by the climate of the Madeira islands themselves.

In general, the longest-lived Madeiras are made using the canteiro process, but there are still plenty of delicious examples that are produced through estufagem heating.

How to drink Madeira wine 

On the label, the sweetness of Madeira can typically be surmised by what type of grape variety it’s crafted from. Sercial is the driest, followed by Verdelho. Bual is often marked by the sweetness of dried fruits, and Malvasia (also known there as Malmsey) leans more in the direction of cooked sugars and toffee. The acidity, however, remains amplified, which serves as an excellent counterbalance to the sweetness.

Bottles of Madeira are also labeled with a range of terms that indicate how long they’ve been aged before release. Reserve, for example, is required to be aged for at least five years, whereas vintage must repose at least 20 years before being sold, though much longer than that is not uncommon.

Madeira can pair with a wide range of foods, from savory to sweet, and to work well throughout a meal, before it as an aperitif, and afterward, too, depending on the style. It’s a fascinating wine to explore, and one of the longest-lived in the entire world. And you don’t have to pop the cork from a 150-year-old bottle to understand what makes this wine so special.