Madeira Wine

This wine is possibly more famous than the island where it is made!

It came about by accident as sailors stabilised the wine in the barrels they took to sea with brandy.

Some of these barrels made it all the way to India and then when they got back to Madeira and they tried what was left in them, they realised it was even better.

At first they thought it was the effect of the motion, so they would rock the barrels to imitate the sea, until they realised it was actually the heat.

This is why you will never find Madeira Wine aging in cellars, it is always aged in the warmest place in the house, often in the attic. It comes in four styles, traditionally depending on the grape it was made with: Dry with Sercial, Medium Dry with Verdelho, Medium Sweet with Boal and Sweet with the most famous, Malvasia or Malmsey, which even Shakespeare raved about.