For The Love Of Port

Andy,
I remember in one of the Broadbent books, that he told he story about an old fellow who drank his brilliant old Madeira wine with... soda . The story goes that he persuaded him to switch to something else to mix with his soda and the Madeira went to auction...
Best
Peter

Dear Roy, and all you Madeira wine lovers out there! After revising and updating the new producer's chapters are online now, together with new pictures, email-addresses (for direct ordering :D ) and www-links. Please check them out carefully and notify me of any misspellings, corrections, suggestion...

Dear Alex, certainly there is no such a thing as an "aroma transfer" from the Sercial vine next on to the TNM. But as Eric rightly said one factor is the different outcome of characteristics of the TNM depending on the altitudes. Also of course the treatment after fortification (fast or sl...

Dear Todd,
pleeeease, no refrigeration, basement chill is good enough. And no ice in the Madeira
Peter

Roy, you are so right! Most producers just used to treat the TNM in a bad way and did not bring this grape to its full potential. That however has changed a lot. Today you can buy a lot of very good wines made from TNM and there are even Colheitas aound now. The 10 YO sweet Reserva of Vinhos Justino...

Eric, I would guess that the bottles that they sell directly from the shop are bottled on a short-term basis. I used to think that I could backtrack the bottling date using the IVM paper seal, but this is not the truth. The IVM issues complete batches of paper seals to the producers, and the produce...

Roy, I guess you start with the type of Madeira wine that suits your overall wine-style best. For example I started with Boal and especially Malmsey, since I usually go for the sweet desert wines. And then you grow in experience and along the way you have a few mind-changing experiences that suddenl...

I promise I will, and I'm really looking forward to a lot of information exchange. After all there is so little "hard facts" published about Madeira wine that there is still much to learn (and taste of course).
Regards
Peter

I own a few bottles from the Kassab collection, but even after investing half a day for internet research I could not find one single TN on a Kassab bottle. Has anyone ever opened a bottle with a Kassab seal (BAK)? Or heard of someone who... These bottles are quite old, came in not so small numbers ...

One more thought flashed through my mind after a sip of madeira (of course): When it comes to the "problem" of precious children vs. precious bottles, regardless of the wine budget "tied up" with children, i find it a comforting thought that one of my sons (or may be my daughter)...

Yes, the funny thing is that with 10 times 10% system the solera of course should become more complex over time, but at first it contains more of the original starting wine. Which wine would you prefer? So far nobody (not even on Madeira island) could (or wanted to) explain to me what happens to tho...

Ten times 10% is the classic solera system for Madeira wines. It differs from the Sherry solera system in the way that you do not have multiple layers of casks with the young wine starting at the top and gradually working its way down to the bottom row on the floor (floor = suelo > solera). I have o...

Is there a guide somewhere, here or on the net, that gives indications of the quality of the last 100 yrs or so. I have been looking at various lists which I have asked for but never have a clue what I should buy, perhaps being a 'wino' I put too much emphasis on individual years. Dear Tom, there i...

you might try the direct-sales email at the madeira-wine-company, but you have to keep in mind, that the U.S. are a little tight about importing alcohol. may be best to hand this email address to your local wine-importer and ask them to do the job for you. or even better to import it yourself by spe...

dear Philip, it really depends on wether you are going to sell the bottles or not. a rewaxed bottle will drop in value for sure. on the other hand if you are going to keep your madeira for a few years to come, and you should keep it upright, then the evaporation will be noticeable and that is a stro...