Take an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 90% of it is mountainous and with volcanic soils. Now give it a tropical climate (never less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity at night time.
Terrace the mountains and plant just about 400 hectares of vineyards with the vines growing on pergolas so you can grow your everyday vegetables under them and maybe even a banana tree here and there.
Harvest the never to be ripe grapes and try to make wine with them. Oh, and don't forget to heat the wine up to temperatures that shall remain unmentioned. Once you finish with heat, allow the wine to oxidize for good measure. The end result? The beautiful wines of Madeira. From bone dry to extremely sweet, (Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia) ranging from 3,5,10,15,20,30 and 40 year old blends, to a Colheita and Frasquera.
Sercial: Dry, Verdelho: Medium Dry
Boal: Medium Sweet, Malvasia/Malmsey: Sweet
Colheita: Vintage wine, with 5 years minimum age
Frasquera: Vintage wine with 20 years minimum age
The wines of Madeira have always been the secret of every oenophile out there. Wines with longevity-- some vintages available today go back 300 years and are practically indestructible.
Madeira has only 8 wineries in total, and only 6 are able to export wine (one of them being new and unable to release wines yet, and one winery that can only sell locally). With 6 wineries to supply the entire world with Madeira wine, demand and supply are never equal. It is no wonder they are not always available, but once obtained is a treasure worth sharing with friends.
Costas - Gotham Wines
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