For The Love Of Port

Currently the island of Madeira only produces 400,000 cases of wine, down from approximately 700,000 cases during the 1800’s when Americans ordered and imported more Madeira than any other nation. Vineyards on the island total 420 hectares (approximately 1000 acres), and of these, only 60 hectares are devoted to the noble grape varieties.

There are 8 major players that are licensed to export wine and a handful of very small producers that only sell locally. The major producers, organized by size, are:

Madeira Wine Company – largest, with brands including Blandy’s, Leacock’s, Miles and Cossart Gordon; partial British ownership
Henriques & Henriques (H&H) - high-quality classic styles of wine, only producer to own vineyards (17 hectares); partial French ownership
Justino’s – French firm, known for Broadbent series of wines
Barbeito – high quality terroir driven wines, as well as producer of Historic Madeira Series based on American cities; partial Japanese ownership
D’Oliveiras – oldest producer, known for traditional styles
HM Borges – small local artisan producer
J. Faria e Filhos – focusing on the local market
Madeira Vintners – new start-up with plans to focus on vineyard specific and terroir oriented wines

The industry is also considering adopting a solera system as a new style for winemaking.

Eric Menchen wrote:

The industry is also considering adopting a solera system as a new style for winemaking.

A new style, for Madeira? Hee hee.