Madeira wines

Real Madeira wine is made only on the island of Madeira, and it is made by fermentation in ten 50-gallon casks with fresh juice continuously poured into the first, and the effluent passing successively into each cask and the product from the tenth bottled. 

As a consequence of bottle aging, carbohydrate conversions can occur, although slowly at cellar temperature, to form the caramel-like 2-furfural aroma for example, in aged Madeira wines. Rapp and Giintert (86MI141) have shown that such carbohydrate decomposition in Riesling wines leads to 2-furfural 9,2-acetylfuran 10, ethyl furan-2-carboxylate 11, 2-formyl pyrrole 12, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural 13. 

Abstract Madeira wine, a fortified wine produced in Madeira Island, is a... 

Madeira wines exhibits a peculiar winemaking processing, fundamental to the development of its specific characteristics. It is a fortified wine made on the island of the same name of the coast of Portugal. The Madeira Island has a long winemaking history dating back to the Age of Exploration, when Madeira was a standard port of call for ships heading to the New World or... 

At first, all of them thrived, but today only wine continues to play an important role in the island s economy. Historical records in 1450 by the Venetian navigator, Alvise da Mosto, known as Luis de Cadamosto, show that Malvasia Candida was brought during the first years of colonization. Infante D. Henrique ordered that lands be planted with Malmsey, brought from Candia (the capital of Crete). Throughout the fifteenth century, vineyards expanded steadily. The consequence of this was an increasing in exports, but it is the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus that constitutes a landmark in the history of Madeira wine. 

Tales are told involving historical figures, in which the notoriety of Madeira wine abroad was already clear. It is said that, in 1478, George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV, the King of England, when... 

The association of Madeira with the United States is intimate. The Declaration of Independence, on 4th July 1776, was toasted by George Washington with a chalice of Madeira wine. It was the wine preferred by kings, emperors, and statesmen and served during the banquets of European Courts. Thomas Jefferson, and all the other "Founding Fathers," greatly appreciated the most exquisite wines of the time, but preferred Madeira over all. 

The beginning of the nineteenth century was marked by an export boom, caused by the Napoleonic Wars. However, this was not to be a favorable century for Madeira wine. The postwar depression devastated European exports. 

Today, growers and all wineries are committed to constantly improving the quality, packaging, and promotion of Madeira wine. 

Currently, there are five main Vitis vinifera L. varieties used to produce Madeira wine Boal, Malvasia, Sercial, Verdelho (white grape varieties), named as noble varieties, and Tinta Negra (red grape variety). Occasionally... 

The fermentation is stopped by the addition of neutral grape spirits (fortification), and depending on the time it occurs, it may be obtained wines with different sweetness. Madeira wine is classified into four basic categories ... 

FIGURE 7.1 Schematic diagram of Madeira winemaking process showing the basic key unit operations that characterize Madeira wines. 

Viticulture and oenology play an important role in the economy of many countries, and considerable efforts are devoted to improve the quality of products and to match the broadest demands of the market. Many industrial processes are finalized to obtain products with peculiar characteristics. The peculiar characteristics of Madeira wines arise from the specific and singular winemaking process. Once fortified, the wines may be subjected to one of the two different heating processes (Fig. 7.1) Estufagem (baking process) or Canteiro (wood casks). 

This process confers the uniqueness, peculiarity, and specificity of Madeira wine. It is meant to simulate the effects of a long sea voyage of aging barrels through tropical climates. As noted, the benefits of this exposure were discovered in the seventeenth century, where casks of Madeira were stored in the warm, humid holds of sailing ships for months at a time. It led to the employment of the technique of baking used today. 

Exposure to extreme temperature and oxygen accounts for the wine s stability. An opened bottle of Madeira wine can remain unharmed for up to a year. Properly bottled, Madeira is one of the longest-lasting wines, surviving for more than 150 years in excellent condition. 

FIGURE 7.2 (A) Evolution of total production and total exportations of Madeira wines... 

In order to expand the worldwide market, considerable efforts are being devoted to improve the image of Madeira wine. Consequently, their characteristics have to be well defined. So, in order to define and describe the particular characteristics and the authenticity of the product, secondary metabolites of grape and wines mainly linked to a specific variety, must be deeply studied. In Madeira wine, these compounds are mainly included in the chemical classes of mono and sesquiterpenoids C13 norisoprenoid higher alcohols, ethyl esters, volatile fatty acids, carbonyl compounds, sulfur compounds, furanic compounds, lactones, and polyphenols. 

Due to the lack of scientific studies on the nature and content of polysacharides, peptides, proteins, and vitamins in Madeira wines, they will not be covered in these discussions. 

TABLE 7.1 Global characterization of young Madeira wines (data from IVBAM, IP)... 

TABLE 7.2 Madeira wine volatiles isolated by HS-SPME using a DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, their principal m/z signals,0 and the corresponding odor descriptors and odor thresholds... 

FIGURE 7.3 Major varietal constituents found in Vitis vinifera L varieties used in the production of Madeira wines. 

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