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19 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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MADEIRA
landscape, soil, climate |
- LANDSCAPE: island. peaks and valleys, steep slopes w/ terraces supported by stone walls
- SOIL: mineral-rich clay atop volcanic base - CLIMATE: hot temps., heavy rainfall, vines trained high w/ cooling canopies to reduce risk of rot or heat reflection from soil |
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MADEIRA
controlling governmental bodies |
- like Porto, Madeira production/exportation governed by its own agency
- Instituto do Vinho da Madeira |
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MADEIRA
grapes and labeling |
- NOBLE GRAPES: "Castas Nobres" - sercial, verdelho, bual, malvasia candid
- REDS: tinta negra mole, malvasia candida roxa, verdelho tinto, bastardo, tinta da madeira, complexa, triunfo, deliciosa - WHITES: bual, malvasia fina, malvasia candida, verdelho, sercial, terrantez, malvasia babosa, caracol, carão de moça, listrão, moscatel, rio grande, valveirinho - LABELING: name of grape type appears on labels of best Madeira wines. the Tinta Negra Mole grape variety is never on label. as it's a lesser grape variety used only for blending |
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MADEIRA
general winemaking process |
1. wineries purchase grapes (most of the time)
2. destemmed and placed in a receptacle. small amount of sulfur dioxide or potassium bisulfate may be added to hinder growth of bacteria 3. tartaric acid or gypsum may be added to enhance acidity 4. no malolactic fermentation 5. tinta negra mole often fermented on skins for semisweet and sweet styles 6. variety of techniques for dry and semidry styles 7. after fermentation, lees are pressed from the tank and used for inexpensive granel (bulk wine) |
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Different Madeira-making methods
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estufagem method
canteiro method |
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Estufagem method
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- mast majority of wines made this way
- wine is heated to max temp. of 122°F for 3 months in stainless steel or concrete tank - this method approximates nutty character that would otherwise take many years to develop in cask |
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Canteiro method
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- natural warming in cask
- preferred location to store casks is in dry areas, as humid locations would promote a greater loss of alcohol than water in the wine - 3-4% of wine is lost yearly through evaporation - very old cask-aged wines increase in acid, alcohol, and texture, they may be "refreshed" w/ a small amt. of young wine to balance out |
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MADEIRA
procedural regulations |
1. enforced maintenance of min. level of wine stock for each producer
2. once wine passes criteria enforced by Instituto do Vinho da Madeira, it receives a selo de garantia (seal of guarantee) attached to neck of bottle - only after min. of 5 years aging can a tenth of each cask be drawn off for solera wines - if a vintage appears on the bottle, it's the year of the base wine used |
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MADEIRA
sweetness, alcohol level regulations |
laws for sugar levels are expressed in terms of the Baumé scale
VERY DRY: 0 to 0.5 Baumé DRY: 0 to 1.5 Baumé MEDIUM DRY: 1 to 1.25 Baumé MEDIUM SWEET: 2.5 to 3 Baumé SWEET: minimum 3.5 Baumé ALCOHOL: content shouild be between 17-22% |
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MADEIRA
styles |
grandel
seleccionado reserva reserva velha extra reserve solera colheita vintage frasqueria (or garrafeira) rainwater |
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Granel Madeira
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- over 1/3 of madeira production
- bulk wine - adjusted by caramel - sold after a year and a half - heated in large epoxy-lined concrete tanks called estufas |
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Seleccionado Madeira
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- aged 3 years before release
- may also be labeled Finest, Choice, Select, or Three Year Old - combination of estufas and wooden casks used for 3-yr-old wines - tinta negra mole is dominant grape variety |
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Reserva Madeira
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- aged 5 years before release
- made by a combination of estufagem and canteiro processes - made w/ either lesser grapes like Tinta Negra Mole or one of the better grapes like Sercial or Verdelho. when superior grapes are used, their names will be on label - may be labeled Old, Reserve, or 5-Year-Old |
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Reserva Velha Madeira
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- a blend of harvests
- youngest wine aged 10 years before it can be used - also labeled Old Reserve, Special Reserve, or 10-Year-Old - made in wooden cask, usually from top grape varieties |
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Extra Reserve Madeira
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- wines for these blends are aged min. 15 years before release
- made in wooden cask |
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Solera Madeira
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- system used for wines aged min. 5 years in cask
- only 10% can be drawn off each year - term "solera" may appear on labels of older wines, but as verifying true origin of wine is difficult, such labeling is being phased out |
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Colheita Madeira
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- made from a single vintage
- must be aged min. 5 years in cask before bottling |
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Vintage Frasqueria (or Garrafeia) Madeira
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- finest style of Madeira
- from a single year's harvest - aged min. 20 yrs. in canteiros, after which it may be transferred to bottles or to glass garrafoes - wine's fermentation is halted by the addition of aguardente (clear brandy) usually by transferring fermenting wines to casks containing the brandy |
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Rainwater Madeira
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- indicates a wine that's semidry to semisweet and based on lesser grape varieties
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