Planning on drinking lots of Madeira? Better read this first :-)

[Peter Reutter]

I constantly try to add small updates to the MWG and here is a small update for the "The tasting of Madeira wine" chapter...
I thought you might want to read this BEFORE you plan on drinking lots of Madeira wine in the holidays

Madeira wine as an aphrodisiac?
Over the last fifteen years I have heard numerous stories about the aphrodisiac-like effects of Madeira wine. The general impression was, that even when you subtracted the effect of the alcohol itself, there was still a considerable ability to turn on people in an erotic way. In the beginning I though these were only stories, but after a discussion thread in the FTLOP-MWG forum, I set out to do some more research. If it was indeed a feature of Madeira wine to arouse people more than other wines, then it had to be attributed to the aromatic profile of Madeira wine. Some other fortified wines have the same alcohol content and some wines even have more alcohol, so alcohol alone could not explain this. Reading in an old pharmacists book about herbs for kitchen use, I came about an entire chapter on lovage. And this might well be the solution: Madeira wine has the highest amount of sotolon, an aromatic lactone that is present in lovage. As the name suggests, lovage has been used for centuries to arouse peoples sexual desires. In most of the different European languages lovage carries a name associated with its arousing capabilities. In German it is called "Liebstöckel" (love sticklet), in Czech its name is libeček, and the Polish name is lubczyk, both meaning 'love herb' and the Swedish name is libbsticka (love stick) again. In the middle ages girls from Franconia carried a small bouquet of loveage under their dress to bewitch their lovers. Loveage was also supposed to protect against evil sorcery. So in general I get the impression that these 'special qualities' of Madeira wine (if they really do exist) can largely be attributed to the unique aroma-profile, especially to the high content of sotolon.

Enjoy!

Peter

[Christian Gollnick]

Mental note to myself: Forget about Port in 2013, focus more on Madeira.

[Ray Barnes]

I might as well cut to the chase here. At least two gentlemen with whom I have shared madeira here in Canada, have noticed in the bouquet something akin to a combination of musk and ambergris. Suffice to say, these guys became interested in more than drinking madeira. As a honeymoon wine, I think madeira has excellent potential.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Hmmm, now to just find a bar frequented by single, young folk that actually serves Madeira. Its probably a better plan than becoming a body builder

[Roy Hersh]

On the eve of the millennium I opened a 1900 Barbeito Malvazia and it worked. My fiancee said, "yes" and the rest is history. Madeira as an aphrodisiac, works. Sadly, that was the only time I've ever seen my wife drink and like Madeira.

[Bradley Bogdan]

On the eve of the millennium I opened a 1900 Barbeito Malvazia and it worked. My fiancee said, "yes" and the rest is history. Madeira as an aphrodisiac, works. Sadly, that was the only time I've ever seen my wife drink and like Madeira.

Worked when it counted!

[Peter W. Meek]

This lends credence to the song (Have Some) Madeira, M'Dear (1956 or before).

My recollection was that I had heard it sung by the Kingston Trio, but the Wiki article does not mention them, and a quick search of their oeuvre does not find it. They did sing a song: The Wines of Madeira but a quick check of the lyrics shows that this is not the same song, and it also does not mention any aphrodisiac qualities of the wine.

Another possibility was Tom Lehrer, but he usually only sang self-written songs.

Possibly it was some other humor or folk-pop group, or maybe even the writers, Flanders & Swann. I will have the lyrics soon, as I ordered an album plus a book of F&S lyrics just now.

[Peter Reutter]

Quote from the MadeiraWineGuide (chapter "Bibliography"):

Songs & Poems
•"Have some Madeira m'dear" by Flanders and Swan. The British duo "Flanders and Swann" were Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and Donald Swann (1923–1994). In 1956 they started performing some of their songs in two-man revues "At The Drop Of A Hat" and "At The Drop Of Another Hat." "Have some Madeira m'dear" was featured in the first revue and tells a story about a young girl who gets seduced by an old man with the help of Madeira wine. If you like more details about this particular song or others, please refer to Flanders and Swann online.
http://www.nyanko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fas/

I would have loved to feature the complete text on MWG, but they did not grant me the permission to do so. Anyway, on their Website you will find the complete lyrics. Also try a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW_zi8n4HDQ showing the original Flanders & Swann duo performing "Have some Madeira m'dear."

[Peter W. Meek]

<snip> please refer to Flanders and Swann online.
http://www.nyanko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fas/
<snip>

I may never forgive you for that link. I think I have now read the lyrics to every song they ever wrote.