Madeira Wine

Madeira is a unique family of fortified wines that get their name from the remote Portuguese island of Madeira. Steeped in history, the island itself juts dramatically from the North Atlantic Ocean, two hundred and fifty miles north of the Canary Islands and three hundred miles west of Morocco. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the island is a cornucopia of natural beauty, historical significance, and cultural heritage. We like to think that - more so than any other wine on the planet - Madeira wines stand the test of time.

The Madeira wines you’ll find in our online shop vary from sweet to dry. What unites them all is the method of repeated heating and cooling, as well as exposure to oxygen, that is used to develop layers of flavour during the ageing process. These methods are unique in the winemaking world, and they illustrate the story of how Madeira came into existence, when barrels aboard some of the earliest trade vessels were fortified with brandy to keep them from spoiling, inevitably exposed to the changing elements along their historic voyages.