For The Love Of Port

It took some web-searching, but I managed to find sources for used copies of Madeira by A. Liddell. The book cost $42 and was in pretty good condition. I noticed that there had been some earlier posts on this topic, but I wanted to revive the discussion.

The book was a pretty good read, although not in the manner I expected. Being a history buff, I expected the historical review of the island to be most interesting; this section of the book, however, was heavily laden with shipping numbers for years. decades, centuries. The sections of the book dealing with the grape varieties, winemaking techniques, and the histories of the island's wine shippers were VERY informative and entertaining.

The sections of the book dealing with the decline of madeira's popularity and a certain level of rebound are very well written and contain important political and socialogical data for those of us who have not traveled to the island.

I recommend this book to other madeira lovers.

Comments?

Joe D'Achille
Orlando

Mannie Berk of the Rare Wine Co. is supposedly working on a book as well. Can't wait.

Noel Cossart's "Madeira - the island vineyard", 1984, and Alex Liddell's "Madeira", 1998, are certainly the two most complete and important books for anyone interested in Madeira wine. Unfortunately there has not been any publication providing anything substantially new on the the subject of Madeira wine over the last years now, so it really is time for another book. However having heard the same rumors about Mannie Berk there sure is hope for the future.
I'll be waiting patiently and keep sipping Madeira wine

Peter

Wow, timing is strange. I answered an email from Mannie yesterday and at the end of my comment was a question about how his book is coming along.

I have both books and find them equally enjoyable but have others with good sections or chapters. Two in my library are:

Facts About Port & Madeira - Henry Vizetelly from 1880 and also, The Wines & Vineyards of Portugal, by Richard Mayson in 2003. I prefer the latter for its current look into the producers and a good historical section too. But there is a charm to anything written by Vizetelly which should not be overlooked.

So Roy,
How is it coming along?

Mannie mentioned that he is very close to completion, finding the time to do so has been elusive ... but he is going to get it done.

We will have some notice of its release too!