In a strange turn of events, I decided that with a lot of focus coming up on Port with the 2007’s coming on board, this would be my one chance before the autumn sets in, to do some promoting of Madeira.

As I will be guiding our Fortification Tour group to the island in less than two weeks, and given the fact that my feature article this month is Madeira, the timing is good to introduce you to something new.

My preference of course is the greatest Madeira website, www.madeirawineguide.com painstakingly written by Dr. Peter Reutter in Germany; but that is not new to anyone who has a deep passion for Madeira and doubtfully will ever be surpassed in its comprehensive depth and educational approach to the vast subject of Madeira.

Nonetheless, I’ve found another website which is certainly worthy of your time, for it offers a wealth of information, especially for the novice or first time visitor. I enjoyed perusing the easy-to-navigate areas on the history, viticulture, vinification process; and similar to what the IVDP does for Port wine, there is an area dedicated to the statistical analysis of Madeira sales which will bring great pleasure to true believers.

There’s also a nice section on the IVBAM, which was the IVM (or Madeira Wine Institute) from its inception in 1979 and up until its conversion in 2006. Now its scope goes further than just wine and IVBAM stands for the Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artisanato da Madeira or Madeira Wine, Embroidery and Handicrafts Institute, should you prefer English. I will avoid the politics of the merger which created this new name and organization and hope you will enjoy your visit to this site!

http://www.vinhomadeira.pt/